The Legend of Talon
by StrikeOfBoredom
Summary: I've got characters in here from FFIV, FFV, FFVI, FFVII, FFX, and BofBof2. If that means anything to anyone. If you dont know those titles, you dont know the characters. Enjoy!
1. Prequel

The Legend of Talon  
  
Prequel  
  
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a planet, that was the very picture of death. It had no true name, so most simply called it Plague. Now, Plague was a dying place, as you could imagine. There was crime or evil everywhere, no matter where you looked. You see, this planet was not what it seemed. Deep below the surface of the planet was a castle, known to all as the Lost Castle of Power. The government of the planet, curse them, tried to keep it a secret, but failed miserably. You see, in this castle, there was said to be a weapon of unimaginable power that would strike down all who opposed them. Not just one, but twelve of them. Many sought to claim the weapons, but as legend said, a person could only take one, or his soul would forever be cursed. There was also said to be a great Guardian there, who annihilated all who sought the weapons who were not pure of heart. Only two people have ever gotten past him to the weapons, by the names of Leif and Shela, and now are the monarchs of evil. The weapons taken were the Blade of Darkness, Shadowfang, and the Bow of Darkness, Shadowhorn, both of which also disappeared with their new "owners". Now, the pair rain their minions upon the world, unseen to the citizens, while the planet struggles to survive. Across the planet, there were strongholds holding the most powerful warriors of the land, training them for the day that the legendary Chosen one would come and defeat the guardian to the Lost Castle of Power and grace the land's warriors with the weapons, so they all could rise up, the ten of them, and vanquish Leif and Shela. To this very day, the Chosen one has been awaited… 


	2. Death's Door

The Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Talon swore loudly. "WHERE IS IT?" He ran around his room tearing things from shelves. As he reached his desk, he saw himself in the mirror, noticing that his blond hair was sticking out in every direction again, but he didn't care. He grabbed the mirror and chucked it at the wall, where it shattered. He ran out of his room and out into the street. Fuming with anger, He dashed into the forge next door and dove for the old man standing over a water barrel, aiming a punch for his stomach. "OLD MAN!! ILL KILL YOU!!!!" He shouted. He was drawing closer…. closer…  
  
WHAM.  
  
His head connected with the side of the water barrel, and his fist with the wall. The old man stood on top of the water barrel, shaking his head. "What have I told you, Talon? You must learn to control your anger and not attack recklessly—"  
  
"I know, Master, I know. But I would wish you would stop taking my sword from my room. I hate people touching my sword." Talon spoke quietly, but angrily.  
  
"It was very dull. You must never fight with a dull blade. Do not worry, I will not break it." The old man said with a laugh. "Now, off to training with you! Master Tang has spoken!" he said proudly. "Ok, enough joking. Off to training, Talon" He handed back Talon's sword.  
  
"Yes, Master. Thank you for sharpening my blade…." Talon mumbled. "I will try the 6th level again today, with your approval, of course…." He looked up hopefully.  
  
Master Tang sighed. When he spoke, there was a tone of reluctance in his voice. "You can't do it, Talon. I know you can't. You will end up at Death's Door as you have so many times, and Barda will rescue you again. You simply cannot do it."  
  
Talon laughed. "You really don't believe in me, do you, old man? With my new skill, it'll be like taking candy from a child!" Talon threw his blade into the air, jumped up, kicked the hilt, landed, and caught it, gracefully slashing it right at his master, tearing his tunic in half.  
  
"I wish you would stop doing that, Talon, You've ruined half of my tunics already. Do you really have to ruin more?" Anger flashed in his eyes. "You're sixteen now, I can have you thrown out! You have to take –" - Master Tang jumped into the air - "- more -" – flipped once – "-responsibility!" –and launched off the roof, landing a kick in Talon's neck.  
  
Talon stumbled, but expertly flipped in the air, landing on his feet. "If you weren't my master and an old man, I'd have hit you. But I wouldn't DARE hit you, of course. So may I have approval for level 6 or not?"  
  
"Yes, I suppose, Talon. Do not blame me when you are seriously injured…with some bad luck, you could die.   
  
"Me? Die? His lips parted from his teeth as he threw his head back and laughed. "Not possible. I've cheated death more than anyone alive. I'm as lucky as they come. If Arestolites existed, mine would have to be the best of the best. But your foolish legends aren't true, Master. Most of us know that."   
  
Smirking, he turned around and stalked off. He walked past the Trainer's homes, where he lived, and walked through a tall adobe archway. There was a loud THUD, and a slab of stone was lowered behind it, and the arch became a wall. He was swallowed in complete darkness until a female voice came from above him saying, "State your Identity, Rank, and Approved Training Level."  
  
Almost lazily, Talon said, "Talon Vernarn, rank 4, level 6." There was a pause, and then the very same voice came from above him again.  
  
"That you, Talon? It's me, Anna!" The voice was excited.  
  
Oh god, thought Talon. "No time to talk now, Anna!" Talon said evasively. It was common knowledge with the Trainers that Talon hated Anna, no matter how much she adored him. "Level 6, now! I have approval, now I want to get this over with!"  
  
"Level 6? Well, if you were approved…prepare yourself. 3…"  
  
Talon closed his eyes, and a vision of what had happened last time he had done this level jumped into his mind. He saw himself being beaten with the giant fists of a shadow. He was suddenly wrapped in fear from the flashback, and began to have second thoughts. Last time, he had received the beating of a lifetime and barely escaped alive, having been saved by Barda, who was rank 2, but a great warrior nonetheless.   
  
"2…"  
  
He then had a vision of his new technique, and how much it would help him in his training and fighting. As adrenaline pumped through him, his courage and strength broke free and he was suddenly full of power, raging, ready to fight.  
  
"1…"  
  
He raised his sword, and prepared himself for the ordeal to come…  
  
"Go."  
  
The wall opposite of where he entered became an archway and Talon leapt out, sword raised. His eyes leapt around the large, square area of the training ground, noticing several people watching through small holes. He saw movement from his left, and jumped to the right, turning toward the movement. Where he had been standing a second before stood a hideous, huge red creature, spouting horns all over its body, armed with a falchion and a shield. It reared its huge head and roared, and aimed a mighty slash with its sword at Talon, who once again leapt away. When the creature (a Fallen One, more commonly known as Fallen) slashed his sword at Talon again, Talon hit it away with his mighty sword, and then threw his sword into the air. The Fallen slashed at Talon yet again, who ran at the wall, launched off it, kicked the hilt of his sword and landed on the Fallen's head and kicked off. He glided off into the air, catching his sword, and fell…he was almost to the ground…  
  
The Fallen threw a mighty punch, which connected with Talon's foot, throwing him off balance. His sword flew out of his hand as he fell, flipping out of control, desperately trying to regain his balance, but he couldn't-  
  
WHACK.  
  
Talon landed on his back. Hard. His sword clattered to the ground next to him. And there he lay motionless. The Fallen picked up his sword, then stood tall over Talon.   
  
The Fallen raised its sword, and plunged it deep through Talon's stomach.  
  
Everything went quiet. He sensed everything around him, as his vision swam and everything close to black…   
  
There were screams from the people in the buildings that he could not hear. Another warrior and a man in a white robe came charging out of the building. The warrior jumped and gave a mighty swing, and the Fallen flew across the battlefield. The healer ran to Talon, picked him up, and carried him inside.   
  
He placed Talon onto a large adobe table, and placed his hands over Talon's stomach, pressing down hard. The people all around watched nervously, some praying for him to live, some just staring at the floor, some sobbing into their hands. The healer continued to hold his hands over Talon's stomach for a minute or so, then collapsed into a chair. "I've done all I can now. The rest…is up to God."  
  
There was a loud "BANG" from outside, followed by a roar of agony, then silence. Then, the warrior who had charged out came back in, looking disgruntled, and threw Talon's sword on the floor next to the table, sheathing his own. He swore loudly. "Level 6? For him! Master Tang must be insane… he may be rank 4, but only I can take a Fallen head on! Everyone should know that by now!" He turned to the healer. "Is there any hope for him?"  
  
The healer stared at the floor. "Yes, but very little. He may already be dead. He may at Death's door. He may be sleeping. Who knows?"  
  
The warrior walked to Talon and placed a finger on his neck. "Master Tang taught me this. It's called a pulse." He closed his eyes. He stood there for a long time, holding two fingers to Talon's throat. When his eyes opened again, a look of sorrow filled them. He shook his head. "He's gone." 


	3. Statis

The Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Talon was floating…somewhere dark. It was so dark…it was beyond darkness. He felt as though he were rising upwards, toward the sky.  
  
And then, he heard a voice…..  
  
"Talon….Talon….Talon!" the voice said, and Talon was surprised to realize that he didn't hear it. It was as if it were playing inside his head. He tried to shout out, but couldn't. "Where am I?" he thought. Then the voice spoke again.  
  
"Funny you should ask. I'm sorry to tell you, Talon, that you are dead."  
  
"Why can't I speak? And why can't I see?" he thought, hoping that once again the voice would respond.  
  
"Because, you idiot, you haven't opened your eyes yet. Open your eyes and all your senses will reactivate."  
  
Using every ounce of will in him, Talon opened his eyes. He was in a huge room, filled with bright light. A man was sitting at a desk, but this man wasn't a man at all. This man…had wings and was wearing mithril armor. "Whoa…." Talon gaped. "Who…no, what are you?"  
  
The "man" smiled. "I can answer both those at once. I am your Arestolite."  
  
Talon gaped some more. "No way. Arestolites don't exist. Master's stories are all fairy tales and lies. You don't, no, you cant exist! I've been in plenty life-threatening situations, and you've never showed up."  
  
"But that's my job, and I haven't been kicked out yet! I've always been there, controlling your thoughts, so that you wouldn't die. If you thought something that would have caused you death, I'd change it. That was all I ever did. You never saw me, of course." He smiled.  
  
Talon laughed. "Well I guess you'd better prepare yourself to be booted out! I died, didn't I? So you failed!"   
  
The Arestolite laughed back. "True, except I didn't fail. I was under orders. I was the one who made you want to do level 6, because I knew you would die. I was supposed to bring you here and inform you of your destiny, and train you properly for things to come."  
  
Talon stopped laughing, but grinned. "More training? Whoo! Bring it!"  
  
"It will be hard, you know. But after this training, a Fallen will seem like an ant to you. You will be able to smash him like a bug, even without my help." He said.  
  
Talon didn't laugh. "Yeah, right. Let's get started then, I want to live again! What exactly will I do in the training?" The eagerness in his voice was obvious.  
  
The Arestolite said nothing, but pulled a paper out of his desk. "Let's see…. first, personal stasis for a day. That seems a bit harsh….Let's see how you cope with a minute or so…." He frowned.  
  
"Personal stasis? What's that? Will it hurt? How will that help?" Talon asked confusedly.  
  
"Stop asking questions. I'm not all knowing. All right, I'll give you a good ten seconds of personal stasis. Brace yourself…." The Arestolite closed his eyes and screwed up his face in focus, then put out his hands, which were glowing blue.  
  
"Whoa, what are you-" Talon began, but then he found that suddenly he was unable to move at all. He could not speak, hear, or move; it seemed as if he was again being swallowed by darkness, but instead of darkness, he was being swallowed by what seemed to be a giant blue crystal. Suddenly, he could see. But with his sight came something else… pain. The pain that he was experiencing was pain beyond all pain; he felt as if his very bones had just burst into flames. He tried to scream, but still couldn't move. The pain was getting worse, he wanted it to stop, to end, to die -  
  
"Ok, I think that's enough." The Arestolite dropped his hands, and Talon fell to the ground. He looked up and saw that there was a large blue crystal just barely big enough for him to fit inside, but it faded away before his eyes. "That hurt, did it not?" Talon nodded. "Good. Now, how much did it hurt, and where?"  
  
"Well, it hurt more than anything I've ever felt, all over my body. It was like I was being burned alive, but the pain was even worse…." Talon shuddered at the thought. He was surprised to realize he was shivering; he was very cold.  
  
"Wow. The thing about stasis is it hurts more the more power you have. It doesn't hurt weaklings at all. It would kill me to have it done on me." The Arestolite smiled. "I'm going to have that renegotiated. That is way too harsh for you. So, the next thing you have to do is…" He raised his eyebrows. "I think they're overestimating you. Next, you have to defeat a mage in battle."  
  
Talon did not seem surprised. "Some magic freak? Bring em' on, they can't use magic anyway, I'll beat them like rugs!" He laughed  
  
"No, I don't think so. Perhaps we should do the stasis after all. See, personal stasis teaches you to endure pain and helps you resist magic. Our mages could kill you with a flick of their wrist." The Arestolite shook his head and sighed. "Come with me."  
  
The Arestolite stood up and began to walk toward him, then past him. Talon followed him into another room, this one pitch black. There was a sudden flash of light, and when Talon looked around, he saw that he was in a black room, and the Arestolite had pointed a finger at the ceiling and there was now an orb of light there.  
  
The Arestolite checked to make sure there was no one coming, then turned to Talon. "Listen, I'm not supposed to tell you this yet, but the pain from stasis can be stopped. It changes from person to person, so every person has his or her own mood or feeling that will stop the pain from stasis. For instance, some people find pacification in happiness, some in anger…. you get the idea. Just think of a feeling and then think of something that makes you have this feeling. Good luck!" He raised his hands and again they glowed blue, and again Talon was swallowed by the stasis crystal, and pain swept over him like a wave of acid.  
  
Once the pain began, he though of Anna, and encountered guilt. The pain raged on. He thought of Master Tang, and that brought happiness, but still the pain came. The thought of the Fallen gave him anger, and fear; but the pain did not relent. He tried every feeling he had ever experienced, but nothing worked. He went through feeling excited, sullen, depressed, remorseful, pained, and even embarrassed. But nothing stopped the unrelenting agony.  
  
So he just sucked it up and tried to endure the flames in his bones. 


	4. Wayne

The Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"Talon, wake up! Your day is over!" The voice came nearby, and Talon's eyes snapped open. He was on the ground, and he had been sleeping. The Arestolite stood over him. "Did you find your protective mood?" Talon shook his head. "Hm. I guess then, that it must have been tranquility. Once you fell asleep, your mind was at so much peace that the stasis field disabled altogether! Amazing…now watch this!" The Arestolite pulled his arm back, put it into the air, and slammed it downwards. When it came down, it burst in to blue flames.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute-" Talon began. But the Arestolite just smiled. Then, he hauled his fist back, and threw a mighty punch. It hit Talon straight in the chest. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the pain – but it didn't come. Upon opening his eyes, he realized the Arestolite had hit him with full force. He was astonished. "Whoa!! That was amazing! I barely felt that at all!"  
  
The Arestolite grinned wider. "Of course you didn't. You just spent 18 hours in stasis. You have the endurance of a brick wall…no, more than that. You have the endurance of a block of steel!"  
  
Talon grinned and punched himself in the stomach. His eyes began to water and he grimaced in pain. "OW!!! How come I felt that?"  
  
The Arestolite grinned. "You also have unimaginable strength. You will find a Fallen to be like an ant to you now…you could flick your sword at him, and he would simply fall to the ground…in two pieces."  
  
A glazed sort of look came over Talon's eyes. "My sword…it is still on Plague, with my body…is there any way I can get it back?"   
  
"No. We can easily forge you a new one, one with unimaginable power – "  
  
"No. My blade cannot be remade. It has the power of my father's sacrifice on it…" His eyes watered like overflowing wells at the thought of his father. "His name was Dorgan. He died to protect me from Leif. That sword had his power upon it. It was what reminded me of him, fighting side by side with me in battle."  
  
"You say your father died in battle protecting you. What of your mother? What became of her?"  
  
"Forced into slavery by that accursed Leif. How I hate him."  
  
"The Arestolite patted him on the back. "There will be a day when Leif will die. Both worlds will rejoice. Yours and mine. But until that day, you will have to use that hate as your own power. You can turn that into more of a reason to put effort into training."  
  
"You're right. I'm sorry."  
  
"It's alright. Back to the subject, you will need a new sword. I gave the order for one to be forged immediately after I put you in stasis. Here." He handed Talon a sword that was an exact replica of Talon's own sword, back on Plague. "It may not have the power of your father's sacrifice on it. But it does have the power of the force of Light. It was made in the forges of Heaven using Arestolite flame. You will never find a better forged sword."  
  
Talon slashed it a few times. "It seems lighter than mine. I wonder why," he said sarcastically. "It's a fine blade. I thank you."  
  
"No problem, everyone we've ever trained here has been given one. Come, we must report to the battle hall so you can fight one of our mages." He walked out of the small room. Talon followed him apprehensively, lost in thought about the fight. A memory from long ago came flowing back to him.  
  
Talon looked at the Arestolite. "Do you know a man named Barda? He is back on Plague and has a sword identical to mine."  
  
The Arestolite looked up, lost in thought. "I'd have to check with my superiors, but no, I don't believe that a man named Barda has ever come through here. I will ask, though."  
  
Talon looked frustrated. "I've always wanted to know where he got it. It has preyed on my mind since the day I first saw him with it."  
  
They were silent the rest of the way, except when Talon asked about a sword on display in one of the rooms they passed through. "Ever hear the story about the sword in the stone?" here Talon had nodded. "Same concept. It is said that the one who can pull the sword from the stone is the Chosen one. If we ever find him, he gets top priority on reincarnation, and gets to keep his body." When Talon approached the stone, the Arestolite pulled him on to the next room, promising that they would return.  
  
Finally, the pair stepped into a large white room, much like all the other rooms, but this one was much bigger, and there was a large window to Talon's right. The window was tinted, but Talon's sharp eyes caught a row of Arestolites. He could not see much more. His eyes flickered across the room, and his eyes fell on a man standing in on the opposite end of the room. The man seemed to me much older than he, seeming to be in the lower thirties to Talon. The man was leaning against the wall casually, his eyes wandering, until they fell upon Talon. When those sharp blue eyes fell upon him, Talon felt a shiver shoot down his spine. The Arestolite slapped him on the back. "That's your opponent, one of our best mages. This is where I leave you, Talon. Good luck. I will be watching."  
  
Then he seemed to vanish. Talon approached the man cautiously, still cowering under the powerful glare of his sharp blue eyes. Once he reached the man, he drew himself up to his full height, realizing the man was also a foot taller than he, and extended his hand. The man's eyes widened and flickered from Talon's hand and back to his grinning face.  
  
"I'm Talon, your opponent." Talon said, extending his hand again. "May the best man win."  
  
The man looked at him like he was insane, then slowly took Talon's extended hand and firmly shook it. "I'm Wayne. Good luck to you as well."  
  
Talon then backed away to the other side of the room, near where he had entered. He swiped his wild blonde hair from his eyes, unsheathed his sword, and prepared himself for battle. Across the room, Wayne simply stood up straight and took a deep breath. Then, a voice came from an intercom in the wall.  
  
"Fighters, there are three rules. First, do not attempt to kill your opponent. They cannot die again, and will only experience immense pain until we can get a medic in there. Second, you must not touch the window on the side of the room in any way. The fight will restart, and one person will receive healing. Last, the first to become unconscious loses. You may begin."  
  
Talon tensed, waiting for Wayne to make his move. Wayne, however, was doing nothing. He had his eyes closed. He's mocking me, Talon thought. He gave a roar of anger and charged at his opponent.  
  
It was one of the biggest mistakes he ever made. Inside, his Arestolite slapped his forehead, if you can call it that, and groaned. "Never, never, never, never, NEVER pull the first move on a mage." He looked at the floor and shook his head.  
  
When Talon was about halfway across the room, he leaped putting his sword high in the air, and brought it down on his opponent. But right before the blade hit him straight in the shoulder, Wayne opened his eyes, leapt aside, and put out his hand. There was a blue glow for a moment, then and icicle formed in his hand. Another formed in his other hand. His blue eyes had an eerie glow about them as he flung the icicles directly at Talon, who dodged the first easily and knocked the second away with his sword. He turned to Wayne.  
  
"Ice magic, eh?" Talon grinned. He leaned the sword across his front in a parry. "Bring it on."  
  
"No, I don't think so. I think its time -" like, the Arestolite, he put his fist into the air and slammed it down, where it burst into flames. Wayne closed his eyes and focused, and the flames became fireballs in his hands. "to heat things up."  
  
Talon saw the flames and grinned. Back at the Trainer's stronghold with Master Tang, level three was a weak fire mage. He would defeat Wayne the same way. He waited.  
  
Wayne made his move. He clasped his hands together to form a gun, and his hands burst into flames. Talon panicked then. He had seen the spell before, but it had never been used on him. It was the next level of fire attack. Talon prepared to block it with his sword.  
  
Wayne grinned. "FIRA!" He was shot into the wall as a gigantic flame burst from his fingertips, heading straight for Talon, who was tensed up, ready to hit it away. Talon came at the perfect moment. He jumped forward and swung his sword sideways at it. It connected perfectly with the very head of the blast, but something strange happened. The flames did not change direction. They began to circle around his sword. They circled closer and closer, until they seemed to sink into the sword and the sword itself burst into flame. Talon was overjoyed. He had heard of enchanted blades but had never seen one, let alone owned or used one. Talon swung his flaming sword, realizing it had the power of a Fira spell whenever he swung it. His eyes fell upon Wayne, who had collapsed to the floor from hitting the wall. He was on one knee, wiping a trickle of blood from his lips.   
  
I shouldn't hit him. One of the main rules for Trainers is, after all, "Never hit a man when he's down." Talon thought. The thought cost him dearly. At that moment, Wayne lashed out with a weak Fire spell. It struck Talon in the chest, knocking the wind out of him, causing extreme pain, and giving him gigantic burn spots.  
  
"I'll get you for that!" Talon shouted angrily. He leaped at Wayne, his flaming sword high in the air. He brought it down with the flat of the sword going at Wayne, but he was moving –   
  
He wasn't fast enough. The flat of the blade smacked against the back of his head in a swordslap, burning his head and neck to a crisp. He did not die, but was grievously wounded and passed out. Talon stuck his blade into the ground and flung himself beside it, breathing heavily, nursing his wounds.  
  
Then came a whoop of joy and there was a flash of blue light. His Arestolite appeared next to him and helped him up. He was overjoyed. "You did it! You did so well! The Board is impressed as well. Not many people would pull the first move on a mage." His eyes fell to Talon's sword. "And this…this is a blade with power beyond imagination. You did perfectly, Talon! Few would think to enchant their blade with an enemy Fira spell!" he grinned.   
  
The Board appeared. A red Arestolite stepped forward. "I am the Director." He extended a hand, which Talon took. "Congratulations on your victory. That was a great fight. Few have done as well as you. If there is any favor you would like to ask of us, name it." Talon thought for a moment, and then something lit up in the back of his mind.  
  
"Yes. Do you know of a man named Barda? He is a dear friend of mine, and –"  
  
"And one of the best people we've trained. Barda defeated the mage with one attack. It had a strange name. I believe it was…Banishing Blade. Yes, that is it."  
  
Talon's eyes widened. "I knew it! I had always wondered where he got his blade, which was identical to mine." He looked at the ground and shook his head. "So the fool died when he left the stronghold to train, did he?" The red Arestolite nodded.  
  
"Yes. His Arestolite slacked off. But it came to good cause. He was the fourth to draw the sword from the stone, if you'll forgive the cliché."  
  
Talon jumped in surprise. "BARDA pulled it from the stone?" He broke out laughing. "No. Not Barda. He's too much of a joker. These noble types are supposed to be all serious and quiet."  
  
"No, not Barda. We know he was a joker. It is true."  
  
Talon thought for a moment. "Another favor?"  
  
"Anything."  
  
"I would like to try my hand at the sword."  
  
The Arestolites all exchanged nervous glances. "Yes. Yes, I suppose so. Come."  
  
They all began to walk until they reached the room with the sword. The Arestolites circled around as Talon stepped onto the threshold. He put his hands on the hilt of the sword, as if feeling it. His grip tightened, and everyone drew in their breath. He tensed his muscles, planted his feet into the ground, and hauled with all his strength.  
  
He needn't have bothered. The sword let loose of the stone with ease, and Talon was knocked off balance. When he stood up again, all jaws had dropped as he held the holy sword high into the air.  
  
"My god," said the Director. "We've got another one." 


	5. Some Familiar Faces

The Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 4  
  
There was a long silence as Talon stood there holding the sword high in the air, before his Arestolite spoke. "Order the reincarnation department to postpone everything. He will pick his men and be off."  
  
Talon looked confused. "Pick my men? What's that supposed to mean?" The Director seemed to gather himself and speak.  
  
"Talon, when Barda removed the sword from the stone, he could barely hold it off the ground. By legend, this means he is a Chosen minion…an ally of the Chosen one. The legend also says that he who wields the sword with ease shall be declared as the Chosen one. Talon…you are the Chosen one."  
  
Talon just stared. It took seconds for the full force of what he was saying to sink in. "You mean…I have to travel to the fabled Lost Castle of Power, unlock the 10 remaining weapons, and with my allies destroy Leif and Shela? It's not possible. I am but a meager warrior! I can't be the Chosen one!"  
  
"Accept it, Talon. The only other person to pull the sword from the stone and be sent back to Plague was Barda. You are to choose your remaining eight allies from our strongest warriors. Come, they are already waiting on my command." He waved Talon along into the room where he had fought Wayne.  
  
Along the wall there were thousands of dead warriors, all talking amongst themselves. Some were armed with swords, some with nothing, some with mage rods, and one man had what seemed to be a gun attached to his right arm where his hand should've been. Talon tried to act important, but failed miserably and contented himself with leaning against a wall.  
  
"So I get eight of these warriors?" The Director nodded. At the sound of his voice, all heads turned. The large black man with the gun approached him and seemed to size him up. Talon was about the same height as him, but the man looked much stronger, and the gun looked like it could hurt too.   
  
"Is THIS our Chosen one?" The man said gruffly. "I woulda thought he'd at least had a bit of muscle instead of being some scruffy little twerp –"   
  
There was a loud bang, and dust sprung up everywhere. When it cleared, Talon had his fist out, and the man was lying on the floor on the opposite side of the room, with an imprint of his body on the wall. He gave a soft moan and looked up at him through a black eye. "I take that back. Big things come in small packages…" and then he passed out.  
  
Talon turned to the crowd. "Anyone else wanna make any smart remarks?"  
  
"Yeah, I got one for ya." The voice came from beside the black man. Talon's eyes darted over the source of the voice, a boy seemingly about his age, with blond hair much like his own, but only sticking out in one direction. He picked up a gigantic sword from against the wall. "It's an old saying…how's it go? Oh yes…all for one, and one for all." He waved a hand behind him and two others stood up. Another man, with blond hair sticking straight up, smoking a cigarette, and holding a lance, stepped forward and blew smoke in his face. Talon ignored him. His eyes were trained upon the beautiful girl standing next to him, about his height, about his age, and wearing brass knuckles. She approached him.  
  
A smile crossed her face, and she put out a hand. Talon took it cautiously. She smiled even wider. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I've been waiting a long time for something like that to happen to Barret. He deserved that more than you know." She let go of his hand and whispered something to the two blond haired men, who in turn glared at her and sat down. Talon stared at the four of them.  
  
He pointed. "Them. Those four, I want them to come with me." All four heads whipped around to stare at him.   
  
The boy with the sword approached him. "Us? Why us? He haven't shown you our skills, and you don't even know our names!"  
  
Talon grinned. "You're my kind of people. Call it a gut feeling. But speaking of your names and skills. Why don't you run through those real fast?"  
  
The boy nodded. "I'm Cloud. You already know Barret," He grinned. "Tifa," He nodded to the girl, "and this is Cid." He nodded to the man with the cigarette. "As for skills…we've already gotten that sorted out. I am a good fighter with basic elemental magic, and mediocre summoning."  
  
Talon stared at him. "Summoning? But no one on Plague can summon anymore, it's an ancient magic!"  
  
Cloud shrugged. "Well, I'm an ancient person. Tifa, shoot the list off to him."  
  
Tifa put up her hand and counted off on her fingers. "Let's see. Mediocre fighting, mediocre summoning, and some skills you've never seen before, that I won't bother explaining now. Yeah, that's about it. Cid?"  
  
Cid approached, exhaled smoke, and thought for a moment, before saying icily, "Good fighter, only the best of magic and good summoning." He grinned. "I'll have to introduce you to Bahamut sometime."  
  
Talon looked impressed. "What's this about magic? Only the best?"  
  
A moan came from the floor, as Barret awoke, put his hand in the air and all his wounds disappeared. He jumped up, popped his neck, and extended a hand to Talon. "Tifa's filled me in. Good fighter, best healing magic anywhere, and no summons whatsoever. And as for Cid's magic…he can't use anything below the best. So, say, if we somehow found the legendary spells Ultima, Flare, Holy, and Meteo, he could use them, but otherwise, he can't even cast a Fire spell."  
  
Talon shook his head. "A shame. But who knows, we might stumble along the spell tablets somewhere. Oh, and sorry about the…you know…" He nodded at the wall. Barret laughed.  
  
"Eh, I deserved it. Tifa's right. I'm too cocky for my own good. No hard feelings."  
  
Cloud, who had been talking to Tifa, turned to Talon. "We still need 4 more, Talon. What are we to do?"  
  
Talon jumped and realized there were other dead warriors watching them, some talking to each other. He scanned the faces and approached a man with white hair and a huge red overcoat, leaning on a glowing red sword. "What's your name? You look promising."  
  
The man looked up, and stared at Talon. He cracked a grin. "Dante. Son of Sparda…ever hear of me?"  
  
Talon's eyes widened as a recollection came to him. He straightened and walked away. Dante's eyes followed his back for a good 10 seconds before dropping back to the floor.  
  
Talon's eyes caught a man whose head was wrapped in a cast, and recognized him immediately. He shouted to Barret, who hurried over.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Heal this man. He's a friend of mine."  
  
"No problem." He approached the man and tugged off the cast, jerking him out of unconsciousness with a cry of agony. Barret placed his hand on the man's head and he quieted. When he looked up at Talon, the blue eyes pierced into his once again.  
  
Talon extended his hand. "Need help, Wayne?"  
  
Wayne grinned and took the offered hand, and Talon tugged him to his feet. "Thank you, Talon. How am I to repay you?"  
  
"By returning to Plague with me."  
  
"Haha. Good joke, Talon. I'm a worthless mage; I would only get in the way."  
  
"I'm serious, Wayne. You nearly beat me. If my sword hadn't absorbed your Fira spell, I'd have been toast. You must come with me."  
  
"Alright, alright, I'll go." Talon introduced him to Cloud, Barret, Tifa, and Cid. When he was introduced to Barret, he thanked him over and over until Talon tugged him away.  
  
Talon sat down on the floor to think. "We need three more." His eyes scanned the crowd. His eyes fell and lingered upon another man in a gigantic red overcoat, wearing pitch-black glasses, with black hair that seemed to have gray streaks. He approached him curiously. "Glasses are forbidden by Leif on Plague. How did you come by those?"  
  
The man looked at him. "Plague, you say? I come from another planet, named Spira. My name is Auron." He extended a hand. When Talon took it, it seemed like a strange energy were flowing into him from this man's hand. He was relieved to let go.  
  
"So tell me, Auron. What sort of skills do you have? What weapon do you use?" Talon had a strange feeling that this man was incredibly powerful.  
  
Auron grinned and stepped to his side. Behind where he had been standing was a gigantic sword, even bigger than Cloud's. It was a strange sword…The end of the blade was U-shaped and there was tentacle-like pieces sticking out of the end. "Nice sword. I'm guessing it hurts?"  
  
Auron nodded. "More than you know. It's called Masamune. I am a much stronger fighter than your friend Cloud, and I have much better skills than Tifa. I have no summoning skills, and only one magic skill that takes immense energy to perform. It is known as the Banishing Blade. And yes, I taught it to Barda," He said, knowing what Talon was going to ask. "Though he used a small sword, much like yours," he nodded at the flaming sword that Cloud had just burnt himself on. "But it wasn't flaming. If you are about to ask if I will join you, like I think you are, then yes, I will."  
  
Talon grinned. "Thank you. Now," he turned away. "Two more. But who? He paced back and forth along the line of warriors (carefully avoiding Dante's eyes) when Auron spoke.  
  
"If I may make a recommendation, I too have some friends we could bring along." It was strange the way he said this…almost hesitant.  
  
Talon nodded. "Lets see them. Who are they?"  
  
Auron whistled and two people in a corner of the room stood up and walked over. One of them wasn't even a man; he seemed like a beast, covered in blue fur, holding a spear. The other, a man with wild red hair and a large strand of it sticking up in the front, approached him and spoke with a strange accent, as if he came from some sort of exotic island. "Don't tell me, brudda. You landed us wit da Chosen one, and now we gotta go and save da universe again. Why is it always me…I wish Tidus had died so he could come along instead of dissappearin' like 'dat…" He looked up and saw Talon, and his face lit up. "Tidus! Tidus! Oh, Tidus, it's you! Welcome to death, brudda!"   
  
He charged at Talon, preparing to bury him in a gigantic bear hug, when Auron thrust his sword between them. "Wakka, that is not Tidus. This is Talon, the Chosen one. I too thought he was Tidus for a moment. But Tidus never existed, remember? He was merely a solid apparition."  
  
"Oh, right. He was some dream of da fayth, ya? Or something like dat." Wakka scratched his head and turned to Talon. "Sorry bout that, brudda."  
  
Talon shrugged and turned to the beast. He looked up at him (He was a good two feet taller than he) and saw on his forehead where a horn had been cut off. "May I ask your name?"  
  
The beast looked down at him and grunted, "Kimahri." He stalked off and sat down.  
  
Wakka slapped him on the back like an old friend. "Don't worry yourself 'bout it, brudda! He trusts ya, I can tell. He's always kinda quiet."  
  
Talon nodded, but he could not help wondering just what Kimahri was. When he asked Wakka, he simply waved it off saying, "Ronso. Old race, ya? Wiped out by an old enemy of ours, Seymour. He's been quieter than ever since then."  
  
Talon shrugged and turned to the Director. "I've got my men, and I am ready to leave."  
  
The Director nodded, and snapped his fingers. All of the Arestolites instantly appeared in front of him. "Alright. It's time for final stasis." Some nodded, some just stared, and some began to concentrate. The Director turned to Talon and his minions, who had walked up and were standing beside him. "I trust you all know your statis-protective mood by now. It will be crucial that you fall into this mood. Otherwise, the pain will crush you. We are going to put our powers together and put you all into one gigantic statis crystal. Brace yourselves."  
  
All of the Arestolites, excluding the Director, closed their eyes and concentrated. Then, the Director gave the order, and as one, the Arestolites put their hands out and the entire party was enclosed in the crystal.  
  
The pain was unimaginable. Talon had thought one Arestolite's statis had hurt, but that was like a paper cut to this. Then he remembered: tranquility. He closed his eyes and relaxed his body, closing his mind to everything, and his entire body shut down as he fell asleep. Instantly, the pain lessened. It was still there, faintly, but was only bad enough to give him bad dreams.   
  
Suddenly, Barret, who was standing over him, grinning, awaked him. "Was it sleep or tranquility? You were snoring like you were sawing logs, Talon. I've never heard anyone snore so loud…oh, except for Cloud." He extended a hand and hauled Talon to his feet.  
  
Talon brushed himself around and looked at his minions. He scanned his eyes across them, and then spoke. "I want you all to know. You are not my minions," They looked confused and surprised. "You are my friends."  
  
They relaxed and Wakka wiped sweat from his forehead. "Don't kid like dat, brudda."  
  
Tifa took off her brass knuckles and punched him in the shoulder playfully. "You're a good kid, you know that?"  
  
Talon smiled, knowing he had just made eight new friends. And, he thought to himself, one of them is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. He chuckled.  
  
Tifa looked up at him knowingly. "What was that for?" she said with a wink.  
  
"Oh, nothing." He punched her in the shoulder. She feigned a hurt look.  
  
"Now you're gonna get it." She put on her brass knuckles and threw a punch for his shoulder. He tensed to absorb the blow, and when Tifa was about to hit him, she stopped. "Wow. Have you always been that buff, or did statis do that?"  
  
Talon looked down and his eyes widened. His arms were huge, at least 3 times as big as before. Everyone else saw him and checked their own as well. Cloud and Wakka, who were not very muscular to begin with, grinned. Barret (who was huge) shrugged. Talon laughed. "Yeah, that was statis."  
  
He turned to the Director. "When do we leave?" he asked.  
  
"Whenever you're ready."  
  
"One quick thing, then," he said. "What do I do with this?" he held up the holy sword that he had put into his sword's sheath.  
  
The Director looked at it with adoring eyes. "Take it with you and present it to the guardian of the Lost Castle of Power. He will in turn give you the legendary weapons."  
  
"Thank you." He turned to the rest of the Arestolites. "Thank you, all of you. Especially you," he said to one Arestolite in particular.  
  
The Arestolite blinked in surprise. It was his. "How did you know it was me? I look no different from the others here."  
  
Talon pointed at his fist. "It's still smoking from when you punched me, and I had some sort of gut feeling. Back to the point," Talon grinned. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome for everything."  
  
Talon turned to the Director. "We're ready to go. Ok. I need a sword. Cloud, may I?"  
  
Cloud nodded and tossed his sword to him. The Director caught it and it began to glow red. He put it into the air and swung it downward with full force. The air seemed to part, and a bright red portal opened. He tossed the sword back to Cloud. "In you go. This will take you back to Plague."  
  
Cloud was the first to dive through. Literally. Barret followed, then Wakka, followed by Kimahri and Auron. Wayne stepped through cautiously. Cid tossed his cigarette on the floor and ground it out, lighting another one at the same time. He fell through the portal backwards.  
  
Tifa hugged Talon tightly. "See you on the other side. I'll be waiting," she added. With that, she turned around and fell backwards like Cid.  
  
Talon turned to his Arestolite. "Thank you, and goodbye." He leaped through the portal. 


	6. What Power!

Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Talon felt as if he was being sucked through a vacuum. The tube barely fit him, and he seemed to be going extremely fast. He was being stretched; he was almost 10 feet tall, when suddenly everything turned white. He was conscious, aware, but he could not see. Then, he could not hear anything. One by one, all of his senses disabled, until only his brain was functioning,   
  
And then he exploded into nonexistence.  
  
Talon sat bolt upright. He was alone, on a stone bed. There were noises coming from outside. He got up groggily and popped his joints. He did not recognize the room, but when he flung open the stone door next to the table-like bed, he recognized it immediately as the training ground. A young boy with a sword, about the age of 7, ran past him, dodging a Fire spell from a basic fire mage. The boy looked up at him, wondering where he came from. He pointed, his mouth flapping.  
  
"You're that one guy who died on level 6! You're a g-ghost!" He shook his small sword at him. Across the field, the fire mage shot off a Fire spell. Talon's eyes widened.  
  
"LOOK OUT!" He shouted. He dove in front of the boy, the full force of the spell smacking into his chest. He flipped expertly and landed, unhurt. He leaped with all his power, landing all the way across the field, slashing upon landing, slicing the fire mage directly in two, who promptly dissolved. He walked back to the kid. "Be more careful, ok?"  
  
But the child just stared at him, until he noticed his sword. "Mister, your sword is on fire!"  
  
Talon laughed. "I know."  
  
"That was a huge jump! How'd you get so strong?"  
  
Talon's smile faded. "Now that is my little secret. Now I want you to do me a favor. We're going to play a game."  
  
The boy's eyes widened and he smiled. "What kind of game?"  
  
"I am going to give you a gift," Talon said. "And then you have to tell no one how I killed that mage."  
  
"Cool! What's the gift, mister?"  
  
"This," Talon said. He held his sword to the boy's and concentrated. Soon, the boy's sword burst into flame. "It won't hurt you. But now when you slash something, it will be go 'BOOM!'" then he walked away, grinning. He loved kids.  
  
He left the Training area by jumping over the door completely. He walked directly to the forges, where Master Tang was updating the rank chart. He sighed.  
  
"A shame Talon died. Now I have to give that bratty little boy rank 4." Talon grinned. He knew the boy, who was a year younger than he, and thought he was the best warrior on the planet.  
  
He approached Master Tang. "Still soft, old man? You can keep me where I am, thanks."  
  
Master Tang did not turn. "Nice Try, Barda. Stop mimicking Talon. You have no clue how." He whirled around. "Now listen-" His eyes widened. "T-T-TALON! Why…When…What…HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?"  
  
Talon grinned. "Long story. I need ask three things of you."  
  
"Anything, Talon, anything!"  
  
"First, have eight strangers been wandering around lately?"  
  
"Yes, they entered the gates about an hour ago. They're staying in your old room."  
  
"Oh good, easily found. They're friends of mine. I'll explain later. Second, where's Barda?"  
  
"The strangers sought him out and he's been in there with them since they went in there, about half an hour ago."  
  
"Good. Last, before I go in there, I would like approval for level 6."  
  
Master Tang stared. "You're going to die! AGAIN! There is no way you can convince me to –"  
  
Talon grinned. "What if I told you I met my Arestolite, met the Director of the Arestolites, spent 8 hours in statis, defeated an intermediate mage, and received the Final Statis?"  
  
Master Tang stared more. "The legends are true. Ok, Talon, go kill yourself a Fallen. But God help you if you are lying to me."  
  
Talon grinned. "Thank you, Master." He stepped out of the forge and leaped, landing directly in front of the training ground, and had enough time to pat a boy with a flaming sword on the back before leaping through the arch, and shouting, "Talon Vernarn, rank 4, level 6!"  
  
Anna's voice came from the room above. "Come off it, Barda. Stop trying."  
  
Well Barda's been making a nuisance of himself, Talon thought. "It IS me, Anna! Just bring out the Fallen so I can kill it, and we'll talk after," he lied.   
  
"Fine, whatever, Barda." The arch opened, and Talon strolled out uncaringly, his sword sheathed. Behind him, Anna glanced out the window. "OH MY GOD! It IS Talon!" She gasped as the Fallen launched out of the capture chamber, straight for Talon.   
  
Talon kept walking, just staring the Fallen in the eyes. Seconds before the Fallen pierced straight through him with his sword, he leapt, launching off its head, then kicking off the wall, landing behind it. He pointed at it and laughed mockingly. He unsheathed his sword and the large crowd that had gathered to watch a dead man fight all gasped as they saw what seemed to be a sword of flame, though it was just a flaming sword. He charged at the Fallen, sword raised, when it unexpectedly lashed out with the sword, slamming into his right leg. Onlookers gasped and screamed, but Talon just grinned.  
  
Before, his leg would have been cut off. But now, the blade shattered against his leg, not even throwing him off balance. He had reached the Fallen…  
  
He again jumped and launched off its head, landing on the very opposite side of the field. Enraged, the creature charged at Talon, exposing the sharp horns on its head and back at him. Talon just stood there, eyes closed in concentration, his sword clutched in both hands. The Fallen drew nearer, and still Talon stood there. Just when the Fallen leapt at him, he opened his eyes and his sword burst into a ball of flame. Though the Fallen was yards away from him, he swung the sword, firing a Fira spell at the Fallen.   
  
All onlookers were silent as the Fira spell hurled toward the Fallen suspended in midair. Soon, they could not see it, because it was swallowed in flame. Its was burned to ash, and that ash burned to nothingness. Nothing hit the ground.  
  
Talon collapsed, leaning on his sword for support. It had taken a lot more energy than he had first thought to conduct the Fira spell. But it had been very effective. He had no idea how long he was kneeling there, and looked up only when the sound of feet approached him. Walking towards him were his "minions", Anna, and Barda.  
  
Anna ran to him with a shout of joy and embraced him in a hug. Over her shoulder, Talon made a disgusted face at Barda, who knew quite well that Talon had no feelings for Anna, and grinned. Talon patted her on the back, then broke away and approached Barda.  
  
"Apparently I should be watching for identity theft. I'm told you've been mimicking me."  
  
Barda cleared his throat and raised his voice so that it sounded exactly like Talon's. "Master Tang, may I do level 6 again so I can die? Oh dear, Barda's got his work cut out for him." They both laughed. "So…Chosen one." He said mockingly. "It would seem I am the 9th member of your party. Barda Highcliff, at your service." He bowed.  
  
"Eh…Barda," Talon said clumsily. "There's no need to be so formal. We're not all stuck up and correct like Master Tang, we're animals." Everyone except Auron and Kimahri laughed.   
  
"He's right, you know," Tifa piped up. "I hate formal people. Take Auron for instance…he creeps me out."  
  
Wakka laughed a very strange laugh. "Ya, we animals all da way home, brudda!"  
  
Talon grinned at his friends and looked down at Barda, and kicked him. "On your feet, slave." Even Auron chuckled at this. Wayne pulled Barda to his feet.   
  
Tifa approached Talon. "So what's the big idea coming to kill some big red monster thing before coming to see me? I'm hurt," she said, once again feigning a hurt look. "Oh yeah, I owe you this…" she said, punching him in the shoulder.  
  
Blood seeped from his shoulder from the brass knuckle wound as he laughed. It didn't hurt. Much.  
  
Talon nodded at everyone, his arm around Tifa. "Alright, down to business. I suggest we have Master Tang forge us some new weapons before we go."  
  
Barda grinned. "I've already got him on it."  
  
Talon smiled. "Good. Now one thing I'd like to know," he said, turning to Wakka, "is what kind of weapon do you use?"   
  
Wakka shrugged. "Anything you hand me, brudda."  
  
Talon nodded. "Good. Take this." He handed Wakka his old sword. "It was my father's. It will serve you well."  
  
Barda laughed. "Well, well, well, the illustrious and sword-protective Talon gave up his sword. Pinch me, I'm dreaming." Barret pinched him.  
  
"Another question," Talon said, "Is if you –" - he nodded at Cloud – "-can use this." He unsheathed the holy sword he had drawn from the stone. Cloud shook his head.  
  
"I can't even hold it off the ground. Only you can wield it. And plus, I use two handed swords…you know, gigantic ones, like this." He nodded to his sword.  
  
"Very well. Then it's settled. We'll stay the night in my and Barda's rooms, and leave tomorrow morning with our new weapons." Then he walked off towards his room, just as the sun fell beyond the wall, as if following his command.  
  
The command of the Chosen one.  
  
The next morning Talon was surprised upon waking to find his arms around Tifa and her face buried in his chest. He shook her awake and she explained she had come in the middle of the night and that he had welcomed her with open arms. Talon shrugged and laughed.  
  
He woke the others and after a bit of coffee and stretching and shouting at Cloud to wake up, they all walked to the forge, where they found Master Tang passed out in a chair. Upon being shaken, he jumped up and retrieved their weapons, handing them all to Talon, then falling back asleep. Talon gave the weapons to the appropriate members of the party. Then they took a final look at the stronghold before opening the gate and stepping out.  
  
Talon looked across the landscape before him. He had never once left the gates before, except as a small child, and a wolf had almost killed him. They began to walk silently. After about a mile, the stronghold disappeared behind a hill and Cid, Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Wakka, and Talon all started to sing a song that Cloud had taught them. They sang until they had no breath, and had traveled almost 5 miles when Talon stopped them.  
  
He stopped walking and motioned for them to stop. "Something's wrong. We've been so loud, something should've attacked us by now."  
  
Barda laughed. "I never told anyone. I killed everything within at least 5 miles before being killed by some gigantic red metal man. I hope we run into him."  
  
Cloud, Barret, Tifa, and Cid gaped at him. Cid spoke. "A giant red metal man? Did he have some sort of tentacles?"  
  
Barda thought for a moment. "Yes," he said finally. "They did."  
  
Cid turned to the other three. "How is it possible that Ruby Weapon could get here?"  
  
"Ruby Weapon?" Barda asked.  
  
"Yes. It is the thing that killed you. We fought it back on our planet, but before we killed it, it flew off, and left the planet. It seems it came here."  
  
Barda laughed. "We can beat him! We're all incredibly strong, and there's ten of us!"  
  
Cid shook his head. "We can only fight him with three. He casts a spell that immobilizes everyone else that goes into battle with it. If one of you dies or passes out, we will take your place."  
  
Talon looked at them. "Then who will go ahead of the group in case we fight it? We should have our three best," he added. "I think Auron, Wayne and I should go."   
  
Cid grabbed his arm. "He is invulnerable to fire."  
  
Talon sighed. "Ah. Weak against ice, then?" Cid nodded. Talon turned to Wayne. "You can cast Blizzard, but how about Blizzara? The next level of ice spell?" Wayne shook his head. Talon sighed again. "In that case, let's see everyone's skills. Auron, Tifa, and Wakka, you're up. Use skills so we can see what kind of potential you guys have got." The three walked ahead cautiously.   
  
They hadn't walked five feet when suddenly the ground exploded in front of them. The remaining seven backed off. The three remaining tensed for battle. Wakka grinned at Auron. "Just like old times, ya?"  
  
Auron chuckled. "Yes, except you don't have a blitzball."  
  
"Big deal."  
  
Tifa paid no attention to them. She was watching Ruby Weapon with a look of loathing in her eyes. Suddenly, she leaped at him, shouting, "Silence Attack!" and landed a punch in the thing's face. It swayed, and then made a strange growling sound. Fireballs formed in its hands. It raised its hand to throw one, but it went out. He was unable to use magic.  
  
"Wait to go, Tifa!" Talon shouted.  
  
Next, it was Auron's turn. He shouted, "You will hurt no one! Power Break!" There was a flash of what seemed to be black light and the thing fell. It lay there for a second, then pulled itself to its feet and swung at Auron. His tentacle collided head on with Auron's chest, but it was not moving very fast and Auron merely stumbled. His physical power was weakened greatly.  
  
"Good job, Auron!" Barda shouted.  
  
Finally, Wakka's turn came. "You gonna get a kick outta dis one, brudda!" He raised the sword into the air, then ran up to the beast and rammed into him with his shoulder, kicked him, and then punched him. He landed gracefully on the ground, whistled, and put his hands in the air. "Triple Foul!" He dashed at the beast with amazing speed, jumped, raised the sword, and slashed directly across his face. When he came back to his original position, a dark cloud surrounded its face, meaning it could not see. He shouted an explanation to everyone else, saying he had weakened its defense, magic defense, and accuracy, while also dealing massive damage.  
  
Kimahri roared to express appreciation.  
  
Wakka ran back to the group and collapsed, breathless. "Kimahri, go finish him with a Ronso Rage." Kimahri nodded and ran down to take his place on the battlefield.  
  
Talon looked confused. "Ronso Rage?"  
  
Wakka nodded. "Kimahri can use enemy skills. He has quite an archive of them. Watch him."  
  
Kimahri posted his spear into the ground and roared with all his strength. He opened his mouth wider and wider, until it could not get any wider, and a red glow formed in it."  
  
Back with the group, Wakka chuckled. "Meteor, his best attack. Watch that thing go bye-bye!" He waved childishly.  
  
Kimahri seemed to burst as the meteor launched from his mouth. It was a gigantic mass of rock and fire, and when it slammed into Ruby Weapon, it kept going. It carried the creature with it until it disappeared off the horizon.  
  
Wakka grinned. "Bye-bye!"  
  
Talon approached Kimahri. "That was amazing! If you keep doing that, our battles will be a snap!"  
  
Wakka's grin disappeared. "There's a problem wit dat, brudda. He can only do it so often. And that one takes more outta him then the others. He won't be able to do it for a while."  
  
Talon shrugged. "Ah well, we'll get by with everyone else's skills as well." He turned to Auron. "You annihilated that thing. That Power Break thing made it really weak."  
  
Auron nodded. "Yes. I also have Armor, Mental, and Magic breaks. They're very useful in weakening an enemy."  
  
Talon whistled and waved everyone to him. "We have to keep moving. If we're going to get to the Lost Castle of Power in the next 3 days, we have to keep moving!" Without another word, he pivoted on his heels and walked off towards the mountain in the distance. Deep inside that mountain laid their destination.  
  
The Lost Castle of Power. 


	7. Summons

The Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Talon sighed exasperatedly. The party had been walking silently for at least 2 hours, and nothing had approached them. He was bored. He needed to fight, or talk, or sing, it didn't matter. He just needed something to do. He turned to Barda. "What was it that we used to do when we were bored?"  
  
"Why? Are you as bored as I am?"  
  
"You bet I am. I need something to do."  
  
Barda sighed. "We used to spar, but I don't want to spar with you. I'll get burned."  
  
Talon laughed. "I'll use the holy blade."  
  
Barda frowned. "Then I'll get banished or something. I don't want to fight the Chosen one."  
  
Talon sighed. "Ah well. We need something to do. I say we stop for the day," he said, nodding to the sun, which was sinking over the hills.  
  
Barret cheered. "I could use a rest and some good old messin' around. I'm bored to tears."  
  
Cloud and Kimahri both grunted their approval at the same time, looked at each other, and Cloud laughed. Kimahri just smiled, something Talon wished he'd never do again.  
  
Tifa yawned. "I need a rest too. Maybe Cloud, Cid and I can show off our summons."  
  
Cid grinned at her. "I'll pass out if I try summoning them all in one sitting, but why not? I'd have to sleep anyway." Everyone (except Kimahri and Auron, of course) laughed.  
  
Talon pointed. "Look, there's a cave over there. It looks promising." All heads turned. The cave seemed small, but upon approaching it, the party found that it was gigantic, and there as even a large stack of firewood in one corner of the cave.  
  
Auron seemed paranoid about the party's choice of lodging. "I think someone is expecting easy prey in this cave. Someone will need to stand guard. I volunteer."   
  
Kimahri stepped forward next to Auron. "I, too." He growled.  
  
Talon shrugged. "Whatever. If you want someone to take your place, wake up…" he looked around. "Cloud?" Cloud shook his head. He was a heavy sleeper. "Tifa?"  
  
Tifa grinned. "Sure. I'm game."  
  
Talon chuckled devilishly on the inside. "Tifa and I. We'll stand guard for you."  
  
Auron seemed to have sensed the devilish chuckle and chuckled himself. "Ok, but neither of us are heavy sleepers, so don't get your hopes up for a night alone with Tifa."   
  
Wakka pointed and said "Ooooooh…busted…" and laughed. Tifa and Cloud seemed to lean on each for support while laughing.  
  
Talon turned to them. "What's wrong with you two?"  
  
Cloud wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "Just past memories. I used the same scheme you just did to get her alone once." He burst out laughing.  
  
Tifa bit her lip to stop laughing and wiped tears from her own eyes. "It didn't work." She started laughing again. Cloud slapped himself and stopped laughing, and Tifa followed suit.  
  
Cloud stood up and looked at Talon. "So, you want to see some summons?" Talon grinned and nodded. Cloud pulled Cid and Tifa to their feet, and motioned for everyone to follow him.  
  
He walked out of the cave. "We're going to need some light…" Just then, Wayne came out of the cave with an armful of firewood, dropped it on the ground, and shot a Fire spell at it. It burst into flames, spreading a cheery light around the area.   
  
"Right," Cloud said. "I'll go first. My first summon this evening will be Ramuh, or Indra, the Thunder Summon." He drew himself up to full height, and then leaned over as he raised one open hand high into the air. There was a clap of thunder, and then a bolt of lightning struck his outstretched hand. His entire body was encased in the raging lightning, until it seemed that he himself was a mass of electricity. Suddenly, it all disappeared, and Cloud was standing there, holding a yellow ball in his hand. He bent his legs and jumped with all his strength, and hurled the ball at the ground. A circle of lighting formed on the ground. There was a blinding flash, and then an old man with a beard 4 feet long appeared, kneeling in front of Cloud. When he spoke, the voice was unnaturally deep, not one to belong to an old man.  
  
"It is good to be back in your service, Cloud. Who is the enemy here?"  
  
Cloud shook his head. "No enemy. These are my friends." He introduced them all to Ramuh, but Talon was too dumbstruck to speak. "You are free to go if you wish, Ramuh. But you have my permission to stay as well."  
  
"I will stay until all of your summons have appeared. Then my time will be gone."  
  
"Very well." Cloud sighed. "Alright. The next summon you will meet is Shiva, the Ice Summon. Talon, hand me my sword." Talon complied. "Here we go." He held his sword in front of him with both hands, and it began to glow blue. Slowly, ice formed on the blade, until it was completely encased in a thick layer of ice. Cloud raised it above his head, and then drove it deep into the earth. The land around him turned to ice, and everyone that was in the range of the ice was pushed back by some unseen force. Suddenly, the ice closed up, forming into a bright blue ball in Cloud's hand. He jumped up high into the air, and once again hurled the ball at the ground, where it formed a circle of ice. There was a flash again, and there stood a beautiful woman, with bright blue skin, and hair seemingly made of soft icicles.   
  
"It is good to be in your service again, Cloud. Who is the enemy here?"  
  
"No enemy, Shiva. These are my friends." Once again, he introduced everyone, and once again, Talon was speechless. "You may stay or leave as you please. Ramuh himself will be staying." She shrugged and went to stand next to Ramuh.  
  
Cloud was breathing heavily now. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. "Just one more. This is a quick summon, but I suggest everyone step back. I'm going to summon Titan." Everyone stepped back except Ramuh and Shiva, who were indifferent to the power of a summon. Cloud raised his sword and drove it into the earth again, but this time it formed a gigantic fissure. The fissure opened wider and wider, until what seemed to be a sumo wrestler made of rock came from the gigantic crack. When he stepped, everyone could sense the vibration of his gigantic mass slamming into the ground.   
  
Instead of giving a formal greeting, he grunted, and asked "Where enemy?"   
  
Cloud shook his head. "No enemy. You leave." Titan seemed to understand and he climbed into the crack, which promptly closed. As soon as he was gone, Cloud sat down to rest. "That was tiring." He motioned to the other summons. "You may go."  
  
There was a bolt of lightning, and Ramuh was gone. Shiva seemed to melt and the water created seeped into the ground. Talon sat next to Cloud, and offered him some water. Cloud took it gratefully. "So what kind of abilities do they have?"  
  
Cloud shrugged. "Thundaga and Blizzaga, put it that way. And they both have extremely powerful physical attacks."   
  
Talon could've sworn his heart stopped. "Thundaga and Blizzaga? Dear god, they could annihilate anything in our path!"  
  
Cloud nodded. "Except that's not exactly what they are. They're even more powerful than the spells. They call them something like Thunderstorm and Icefall. They pretty much destroy anything. Except those accursed Weapons."  
  
Talon jumped. "There's more than one?"  
  
"Yeah, there are five. All of them got away. There's Ruby, Emerald, Ultima, Omega, and Crystal. They might all be on this planet. Who knows?" He turned to Cid. "You're up."  
  
Cid nodded. "Get more water. I'll need it." He walked a good 10 feet away from the group before whipping around. "Barret, who should go first?"  
  
Barret shrugged. "Save the best for last. How about Kjone, then Leviathan, then Hades, then Bahamut?"  
  
Cid nodded and sighed. "Alright. Here goes. Kjone is a multi-elemental beast. He uses all elemental magic. Yes, ALL of it, Talon. In addition, elemental magic does not work on him. Here goes." He turned his back to them and walked to the cliff over looking the valley, and put his hands out. Down below in valley, the ground seemed to open into a gigantic hole as Cid's hands moved apart, as if he were tearing the ground open with his hands. Out of the hole sprang what seemed to be a gigantic rhinocerous, except out of each side of its head came a curved sort of tusk. It easily leaped out of the valley, and landed right next to cid, who patted it on the head. Cid whispered, "You may go." And it leaped down into the valley and landed in the hole just as it closed behind him.  
  
Cid turned to the group. "Sorry I didn't keep him, but he tends to attack strangers." He nodded to Barret and Cloud, who laughed. "Ok. Next up is Leviathan, the Water Summon, who has all Water magic, plus Tidal wave, Holy, and Flare." He placed both his hands on the ground and began to concentrate. His eyes closed and he gritted his teeth in concentration, until he rose and stepped away. Water began to seep out of the ground. It formed a small puddle on the ground. Cid sat down lazily, taking the water from Talon, who seemed dumbstruck.  
  
"That's it? That's hardly a summon –" his words were cut short. At that moment, the puddle instantly widened, and a dragon burst from the water. It was near 100 feet long, and as soon as its entire snakelike body had emerged from the puddle (which had become the size of a small lake), the puddle dried up and Leviathan curled up on the ground, his gigantic head looking directly at Cid.  
  
"Hello again, Cid. It is somewhat of an honor to be in your service again. These are friends?" He flicked his head at the group.  
  
"Yes. Would you like to leave or stay while I summon Hades and Bahamut?"  
  
"I do not know. Before I do anything, I would like to speak to the Chosen one."  
  
There seemed to be a flash of black light, and Talon stiffened. "Why? What do you want with me?"  
  
Leviathan chuckled, which was such a strangely gentle sound that Talon relaxed immediately. "I wish to endow you with knowledge. You, as the Chosen one, must know of the secret of the guardian of the Lost Castle of Power. The Arestolites, blessed though they may be, know nothing of the guardian. Leif used me against him when he and Shela stole Shadowfang and Shadowhorn. But be assured, Talon, that when he turned evil, I did not go with him. The guardian of the castle is not one, not two, but three guardians in reality. The first will be the hardest for you. You have to fight yourself. A demon version of yourself will come from a cursed mirror, and you must defeat him. He has all the physical skills you do, but you must find within you the one quality that no demon possesses. You must find a thought that expresses this feeling, and the demon will be vanquished. The second guardian is the fabled Stone Giant. You cannot hurt him with your blade, so you must summon holy power against him. If you should need assistance with this task, look to the sky. And by no means should you give him the Sword! Third and final, you will face the most daring task of all. You will find an old man in the room beyond, surrounded by the Legendary Weapons. You must approach him and hand him the hilt of the sword, and speak the following words, and nothing else besides. 'Judge me. I am pure of heart and have no sin. I am he born from the mouth of a dragon, and I shall claim vengeance itself from these forges and strike down the source of all evil' No matter what he may say, unless he tells you to speak freely, say NOTHING, and nothing besides. The last thing I must tell you is that when you speak to the man, you must be alone. None of your allies may enter until given permission by the man. Learn well this lesson, Talon."  
  
There was a second flash of black light, and Leviathan turned back to Cid. "Never mind. The information I have for him is not important," he said, glancing quickly and meaningly at Talon. "I shall go." The puddle that had disappeared returned, and Leviathan dove into it, disappearing all to quickly. When he was gone, Talon felt a strange emptiness inside of him.  
  
Cid stood up. "Right," he said. "Next is Hades. I suggest you all cover your eyes for a moment. 3…2…1…" Even though he had his eyes closed, Talon seemed to sense a cold wind flash over him. "Okay." When they all looked back at him, he held a ball of energy in his hand, and this one was the darkest, deepest black any of them had ever seen. Instead of hurling it at the ground like Cloud did, he rolled it away from the group. After rolling about 10 feet, it burst, and a black hole seemed to form in the ground. Out of it came what seemed to be the Grim Reaper. It had a scythe and everything. It walked to Cid, and silently stood next to him. "This is Hades. His attacks are Reap, Death, Doom, Holy, Flare, and Potion. What they all do is obvious." Cid slammed and fist into Hades, and he disappeared. "He too likes to attack strangers."  
  
Cid seemed to straighten up. "Right. Everyone get by the entrance of the cave except you, Talon. I need you to prepare to attack in case something comes out of the Void with him. It's happened." Behind him, Barret was nodding vigorously. "Right. Here we go." He pulled a box of cigarettes out of his back pocket, lit one, and put it away. He inhaled deeply, for such a long time that Talon thought he was going to burst. But finally, Cid pulled the cigarette from his mouth and threw it on the ground, grinding it out. He exhaled smoke forcefully, and then motioned for Talon to back up. They both backed up as the smoke formed the shape of a dragon, not one like Leviathan, but like a real dragon. As the smoke cleared, there was not a dragon standing there, but yet another black hole. Talon could see that through the hole seemed to be empty space. In the distance, he saw a gray form hurtling towards the hole. It got bigger and bigger until suddenly Talon realized it was a dragon.  
  
It opened its mouth and shouted, "Close the portal! I've got Zeromus on my tail! CLOSE IT FOR GODS SAKE!" Cid went white and began to close the portal. Talon caught a glimpse of a purple vapor directly behind the dragon. The dragon shot through the hole just as Cid closed it behind him.   
  
"Nice to see you again, Bahamut." Cid extended his hand, which the dragon took, and turned to Talon.   
  
"Is this the enemy? He's small," he said mockingly. "I will crush him on your order."  
  
"No, Bahamut. This is Talon, the Chosen one."  
  
"The Chosen one! Ha! What a joke. He's too small and weak to be the Chosen one –" his words were cut off as everyone else approached and Barret spoke up.  
  
"That's what I said. He knocked me out with one punch, Bahamut!" he grinned.  
  
Bahamut seemed to brighten. He roared and charged at Barret, tackling him. "Barret! So good to see you again. But you still owe me fifty credits on that bet on whether or not I could beat Crystal Weapon. Pay up, or I'll have to kill you."  
  
Barret laughed. "Alright, here." He handed him a handful of money. "I still can't believe you did it. That Mega Flare of yours packs a punch."  
  
Bahamut nodded. "Yes." He turned back to Cid. "How long may I stay?"  
  
Cid shrugged. "As long as you like."  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
Talon piped up. "The Lost Castle of Power."  
  
Bahamut frowned. "No. I will not go in there again. If I have to fight that accursed shadow beast again, I will not go."  
  
Talon laughed. "You won't. Only I fight the shadow, and I cannot summon you."  
  
Bahamut relaxed. "I will go as far as the castle. But until that time I would like to –" They never found out just what it was that he wanted to do, for at that moment Talon let out a cry of surprise as a strange purple vapor came from a small black hole near the fire.  
  
Cid gasped. "No! What have I done? Zeromus has broken out of the Void because of me! Oh dear. Everyone prepare for combat!" He picked up his spear and positioned himself to fight.   
  
Bahamut pushed him back. "No. I will do all I can to weaken him. Then it will be up to all of you to defeat him in his true form." He stepped forward and threw a punch at the vapor, which sent it flying back, and then the vapor expanded and formed itself into a blue beast about the size of Bahamut's wing. "Zeromus! Show your true form to me, the Aeon of Cecil, the Legendary Paladin! Show yourself!" The blue creature seemed to shudder, and then from it burst a gigantic beast, three times the size of Bahamut. It reminded Talon of Leviathan, but an evil one, and it seemed to be dried up. Bahamut jumped backwards and buried his claws into the ground. "I've been saving this for someone powerful, Zeromus, but I guess you'll have to do!" He opened his mouth as wide as he could, and inside there grew a gigantic blackness. The Void seemed to open up again from Bahamut's mouth. The circular object floating in midair parallel to Bahamut's back, which Talon had just noticed, began to spin. He raised his head, aiming his mouth directly at Zeromus, and then shot off a wave of energy. It had no color to it; it seemed to be a ripple in the air. It was like looking through water. But when it hit Zeromus, he was swallowed into a dark ball, and there was a quiet explosion that sounded muffled. When the ball disappeared, Zeromus fell to the ground, weak and injured.  
  
Bahamut stood up. "Quickly! Attack him one by one! I'll attack him myself first!" He leapt forward, slashing his sharp wingtips and his claws at Zeromus in one movement, then flipped around and formed a bright orange ball in his hands. He let loose with the ball, and it became about 20 balls, and surrounded Zeromus before exploding with such force that he rose off the ground.   
  
Bahamut could not stop his backward movement, so Cloud stepped forward. "I too have been saving something for someone special. Take this, Zeromus! OMNISLASH!" He held his sword in front of him, which seemed to turn black on it's own accord. He charged at Zeromus, and with amazing strength and speed slashed his sword wildly over and over, for a total of about 20 hits, before Zeromus swiped at him with his tail and knocked him away.   
  
Barda and Auron both approached. They both held their swords in front of them and took turns drinking from the jar of liquor at Auron's hip. They spat it on their swords, and simultaneously, as if of one mind, they charged at Zeromus with their swords raised high as the swords themselves turned black. When they had almost reached the beast, they swung their sword into the ground and eight (four from each) black orbs edged with the colors of the rainbow came from the ground, and seemed to eat their way in and out of Zeromus, causing the beast massive pain. Once again, Zeromus weakly swept them aside.  
  
Barret and Cid approached. They high fived each other, and both began to glow. They shouted together, "Limit Break!"  
  
Cid strolled forward, inhaling from his cigarette. He puffed it into the air and shouted, "Highwind!" From nowhere, missiles and bullets came flooding down upon Zeromus, battering him into an even weaker state.  
  
Barret stepped forward, gun raised. "Apocalypse!" he shouted. A glow came from the gun, and he leapt into the air, firing his gun in an awesome red blast that swept back and forth across Zeromus before fading completely. Barret and Cid were both swept aside.  
  
Kimahri ran forward from nowhere, then vaulted off the ground using his spear and plunged it through the center of the beasts face. He launched backward and was about to fire a Meteor when a tail came from nowhere and threw him back into the cave. Zeromus was getting stronger.  
  
Wakka approached and made one slash with his sword before being thrown into the cave with Kimahri. What an accomplishment, Talon thought.  
  
Tifa and Wayne stepped up. Wayne stepped forward and shot his already charged Fira spell, which slammed into Zeromus, and he was still burning when Tifa stepped forward. She charged at it and shouted, "Limit Break! Ballistic Barrage!" She threw a variety of lightning-fast punches and kicks before being hit aside by Zeromus with a Fire spell.  
  
Talon had watched all this guiltily, knowing that he should have charged into battle before anyone else. He had been studying everyone's encasement of attacks and had been entranced by the damage caused by Barret's Apocalypse, but it was seeing Tifa be blasted by the beast that snapped him out of the trance and threw him into a mad rage. He stepped forward to Zeromus smoothly and drew the flaming sword from his side, and pointed it at Zeromus. "YOU! YOU HAVE PLAGUED THIS WORLD LONG ENOUGH! BACK TO THE DEPTHS OF THE VOID WITH YOU!" with that, he leaped, his eyes flaming with rage, and brought the sword down upon Zeromus with the force of his strongest slash and a Fira spell, such force that once again, Zeromus lifted from the ground. Not satisfied, Talon launched off the beast, landing a good deal of distance away from it, before madly slashing at it, firing Fira after Fira after Fira until he could no longer see the beast because it was encased in an envelope of flame and smoke. STILL not satisfied, Talon held the sword high above his head, charging the Fira spell for a good minute, before letting lose with what Talon recognized to be not a Fira spell, but a Firaga, the next level of the spell. In his rage, he let loose early and the spell shot off into the sky. Talon roared in frustration, then ran at the battered remains of the beast, slashing faster and in larger quantities than Cloud could ever hope to achieve with an Omnislash. Each time, a Fira spell was let loose as well, and finally, the Firaga spell came rocketing back down to earth, slamming into Zeromus, and when the smoke cleared, nothing remained. 


	8. Doom Gaze

Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Panting with rage, Talon stuck his sword into the ground, drew the holy sword and stuck it into the ground, took off his rarely-used shield and threw it to the ground, and then roared with all his might, until his lungs were about to burst from lack of air, and then he drew a deep breath and collapsed. A minute later, when he had summoned enough energy to sit up and look around, he realized everyone was staring at him, half in awe, half because they thought he was insane.  
  
Bahamut stood up and approached him. "You're raving mad. I like you." Talon grinned.  
  
Suddenly, there was a loud bang and a yell, and Barret came flying out of the valley, his gun blasting him off the ground. He landed inches from Talon, before screwing his face up in concentration, putting his hand in the air, and healing everyone with a single spell. Though he too was healed, he passed out from the effort.  
  
Bahamut shook his head. "Idiot. I could've done that," he said to Talon.   
  
Bahamut flicked his wrist at Barret, who woke immediately and stood up. "Thank you," he said. "We'd better go soon, Talon. We need to get to the Castle quick before something else decides to attack us."  
  
Talon laughed. "You don't want to be attacked? I need to fight more!" Since he had been rejuvenated from Barret's spell, he was full of energy and needed to fight. "I want a fight!" he roared. His voice echoed across the canyon, until it faded completely.  
  
Bahamut smirked at him. "If you wish to risk it, I will spar with you. But I cannot use my regular physical attack, for it would kill you instantly, so…" he turned and approached Cloud, who was helping Cid to his feet. "May I use your sword to spar with Talon, Cloud?"  
  
"Yes, of course, but only if you'll heal Cid. He's a tad wasted after summoning all of his summons and then hitting Limit Break, even after being healed by Barret." Bahamut flicked his wrist at Cid, who blinked and stood up. Bahamut turned and picked up Cloud's sword, which had been flung by the fire.  
  
He turned back to Talon. "Right." He walked into the clearing near the cave, and Talon followed him. They both tensed for battle. "Here we go. Good luck, Talon."  
  
Talon put up a hand. "Wait. If you use a weaker weapon, then so do I." He flung his flaming sword toward the camp, where it fell with the blade in the campfire, which roared to life, giving them light. He drew the holy blade. "Let's go."  
  
At that moment, the very first of the battle, Bahamut did what Talon least expected, and instead of charging at him, fired a quickly charged Fire spell, which Talon barely dodged. As soon as his feet hit firm ground, another Fire spell rushed at him. Talon once again leaped aside, and once again Bahamut fired a spell. Talon leaped over this one, and when Bahamut fired the next spell, Talon twisted in the air, hitting it with his sword, and it flew back towards Bahamut. It hit him straight in the chest, and he stumbled and fell.  
  
"Right. Again!" He stood up and raised the blade. He leaped at Talon. Talon had been expecting this. He leaped aside, his sword in front of him ready to block a spell, and then jumped to avoid the weak Thunder spell that Bahamut shot. He came down on top of Bahamut, hitting him in the neck with the flat of the blade in a sideways swing. Bahamut fell to his knees.  
  
"Once more." He jumped to his feet. Talon thrust his sword straight at him, but this time it was he who leapt aside, and when Talon swung the sword around at him, he dodged it. He began to run incredibly fast around Talon, who calmly closed his eyes, using the trick Master Tang had used so many times when sparring with him. All his senses sharpened. He could hear the exact position of Bahamut, somewhere to his left. He thrust the sword low, and opened his eyes to see that Bahamut had tripped, and had his face buried in the dirt. He stood up once again.   
  
"You are indeed a mighty warrior, brave Talon. You easily countered me in magic, power, and stealth. Dually note that I could have easily killed you, by combining any two of the three together, say, if I had been firing spells at you while I was running. But in basic combat, you are a master."  
  
Talon grinned. "I had a hunch you were being easy on me. Using Fire instead of Firaga or Flare…I should be insulted."  
  
Bahamut shrugged. "I didn't want to kill you. Would you rather I had?" Talon shook his head. "I didn't think so. Come," he said to the group. "We must go."  
  
Talon realized everyone had been watching the fight with interest, now knowing that their Chosen one was indeed strong (which was not what they had thought originally). He awkwardly backed up Bahamut's statement. "Yeah, c'mon, let's go!" He motioned for them to follow and began to walk, feeling stupid.   
  
Cid caught up with him. "So…what'd Leviathan have to say?" he said quietly.   
  
Talon could've sworn his heart stopped. "Uh…nothing! Why do you ask?"  
  
Cid grinned. "Whatever you say."  
  
Talon awkwardly tried to change the subject. "So, uh…with you on our side, nothing can stop us! Bahamut can annihilate anything!" Cid nodded. "Not to mention Cloud's Summons. They were pretty good. But is there a Fire Summon? If there's Ice and Thunder, then is there a Fire Summon?"  
  
Cid opened his mouth to speak, but Wayne approached and interrupted. "Yes, there is. Ifrit, or Jinn, is the most powerful of the elemental summons. Who belongs to has been a mystery to this day, to most people." He grinned. "But as for me…" He opened his hand, and a bright red ball sat in it. "I know exactly who he belongs to."  
  
Cloud, who had been wandering about behind them, gave a yell of surprise and ran up to Wayne. He pointed at him, his mouth flapping, but no sound came out. He finally managed to string some words together into a sentence. "You…are the holder of Ifrit? I have been looking for him for years! How did you come by him?"  
  
Wayne shrugged. "He was passed down through my family. My father battled against Leif with him, until he was grievously wounded and passed him on to me."  
  
Cloud tore at his hair, crying in anguish. "Who was your father?"  
  
Wayne shrugged. "The name would mean nothing to you. He was a simpleminded sorcerer."  
  
"You'd be surprised. What was his name?"  
  
"Kain."  
  
Cloud jumped. "KAIN? The legendary Dragoon Knight? He lived at least 4,000 years ago!"  
  
Wayne laughed. "I've never heard of that Kain. No, my father was a sorcerer, not a fighter or a Dragoon Knight."  
  
Cloud's surprise faded quickly, to a look of embarrassment. "Oh. Sorry. What about your mother, then? Did she fight at all?"  
  
Wayne grinned. "My mother was a legend where I came from. She was a general, a sorceress, and not bad of a warrior. Her name was Celes."  
  
This name seemed to echo through Talon's mind. Something deep inside his head knew that name, but he could not place it. He turned to look at Wayne. "Celes…I know that name. I can't say where…but I know that name from somewhere."  
  
Wayne shrugged. "You probably heard it from that Tang guy. He was talking about the stories he tells before we found Barda."  
  
Talon shook his head, and gazed at the mountains ahead, lost in thought. Next to him, Cloud was doing the same.   
  
Finally, Tifa broke the monotony. She approached from behind and tapped Talon on the shoulder. "We've got a bit of a situation. Kimahri heard something, and he, Auron, and Wakka ran off. They haven't returned yet…" Her voice trailed off as Talon stopped and slowly turned.   
  
"We have to find them. We need to backtrack as quickly as possible. They may be in great danger!" His face remained calm, but his voiced cracked with obvious fear.  
  
Tifa cocked her head at him. "Something wrong?"  
  
Talon shivered slightly. "Yes. Something's wrong. Something is very wrong. Oh, god, I didn't think –"  
  
Tifa cut him off. "WHAT? What's so bad?"  
  
Talon stared at her, horrified. "Doom Gaze. I saw him coming towards us earlier. I thought we would pass him, but the fools had to go back and investigate…they're goners if we don't hurry! Come on!" He began to run.  
  
Everyone was lost behind him as he ran at top speed. In training, Talon had been known for his agility. Soon everyone was far behind him.   
  
Suddenly, everything seemed to darken. Talon cried out, "NO!" and put all power he could muster into his legs as everything brightened again. In his mind, Talon knew that Doom Gaze had just killed one of the three warriors. That flash was the spell Doom. That accursed bird would kill them all unless they could hurt him enough, and quickly.   
  
There was another flash of darkness. Talon cried out in frustration, and passed over the crest of a hill. As he looked down to the bottom of the hill, he saw the gigantic bird-like form of Doom Gaze. In front of him were Wakka and Auron, who were knelt over the strewn body of Kimahri. Talon cried out and leapt with all his might, landing next to Auron, stumbling, and then straightening up. "What are you doing? We must fight the bird before he kills us all!"  
  
Wakka cast him an annoyed look. "If ya haven't already noticed, brudda, da bird is not a threat for da moment." He turned back to Kimahri.  
  
It took a couple seconds for Wakka's words to sink in. He turned his head, and gasped. Now that he was looking at the bird more closely, he realized it had turned to stone.  
  
"But – how did you – why – what – how'd you do that?" Talon spluttered.  
  
Wakka laughed. "Break, brudda. It's one of my few spells. Turned that thing to stone, but it got Kimahri before I could."  
  
Talon still did not relax. "Kimahri's dead, Wakka. The spell Doom Gaze used was Doom. It kills the target."  
  
Auron nodded. "He's right. Kimahri has no pulse. He's dead."  
  
Wakka slammed his fist into the ground and growled. "Ah well. We gotta finish this thing off. It should be restored in a few seconds."  
  
Talon jumped. "Be ready to fight! We have to hurt it a lot in a short time, or it will take more of us!"   
  
At that moment, there was a loud thud behind him as Bahamut, carrying Cid and Cloud, landed behind them. Bahamut shook his passengers off him, and then looked at Talon. "We will fight with you. I believe that if I am here, we can kill him for good."  
  
Talon shook his head. "We can try, but I don't think so…he is an incredibly powerful creature. He will just be forced to flee."  
  
Bahamut shrugged. "So be it. Let's just beat it to a pulp and be done with it." He smirked.   
  
In the light of Kimahri's death, Talon could not bring himself to smile back. "I'll wait to the side. If one of you falls, I'll step in."  
  
Bahamut shook his head. "No. We need our most powerful warriors. It will be you, me, and Wakka." He turned to Cid. "You step in if someone falls."  
  
Cid nodded grimly, and slouched off to the side, followed by Auron. The three remaining prepared themselves for battle, each preparing different sorts of attacks. Bahamut placed his hands to his side, charging a Flare spell. Talon held his sword behind him, charging a Fira (or, as he now knew, a Firaga). Wakka…did nothing.  
  
Suddenly, there was a white flash of light, and Doom Gaze got its color back and began to move. It shook itself off, and then cocked its head at Wakka, his eye gleaming oddly.  
  
Bahamut dropped his guard. "This thing's dangerous? It's actually kind of cute…" his voice trailed off and he grinned. "Must I kill it?"  
  
Talon's eyes widened. "Fool! Put your guard up! Attack him!" He himself was almost done charging his attack.   
  
Bahamut shook his head. "No, seriously, what can this thing do?" Suddenly, there was a flash of black light, and Wakka crumpled to the ground.   
  
"NO!" Talon and Auron yelled together. Auron leaped forward, wielding his sword, which was glowing black. He drank from the flask at his hip, and spat it on his blade. He leaped forward, high above Doom Gaze, landing behind it. He thrust his sword into the ground, and the four black balls sprung from the black hole created. All four slammed into Doom Gaze, eating their way in and out of him, and the bird fell to the ground, twitching helplessly.  
  
As it began to regain its footing, Bahamut (who was serious now) stepped forward and performed an attack much like the one he used on Zeromus, twisting in midair to slash him four times, then firing a fully charged Flare. Doom gaze was encased in a gigantic orange ball, and from it came a muffled explosion. The ball faded, and the bird fell out of it, striking the ground and beginning to twitch once again. This time, Bahamut launched himself off of a rock and slashed the bird yet again, before continuing backwards.  
  
Talon, his blade glowing an eerie brown, leaped as high as his legs would let him, seemed to float in midair for a few seconds, then came down holding his sword below him, and then adjusted himself so that it seemed like he was diving at the bird. Just before he came down, the Firaga spell burst from his blade, a gigantic meteor, that slammed into Doom Gaze just as Talon struck with his sword. The force of the explosion launched him backwards, where he landed, stumbled, flipped, and regained his footing. He looked up at the bird to see that it was on the brink of death, but was looking at him oddly. Its eye gleamed oddly at him. Struck with fear, Talon found that he could not move. His journey was over…he was about to die. Again. He braced himself.  
  
Suddenly, there was a cry from somewhere to his right, and when he looked, he saw Tifa standing on the crest of the hill, holding a gray ball in her hand. She threw it, and it landed between the bird and Talon, where it expanded, becoming a bright blue creature, who waved a hand and disappeared. Tifa laughed in triumph, as Talon sat helplessly.  
  
At that very moment, four things happened in very short order. There was a flash of black light, a gust of wind, a flash of blue light, and a tortured cry from Doom Gaze. When Talon lowered his arm (he had raised it to his eyes after the flash of light) he saw that the bird was once again on the ground, but it wasn't moving.   
  
There was a thud, and Bahamut collapsed next to him. He glowed blue, until he was just a mass of bright blue light. The light seemed to shatter, and the pieces formed a blue ball. A hole into the Void opened, and the ball rolled into it. There was a snap as the hole shut.  
  
There was another thud as Tifa landed next to him. She extended a hand, which Talon took gratefully. Once he was on his feet, he swayed drunkenly and knelt, leaning on his sword, panting. "I used all my energy on that Firaga…I can't even stand."  
  
Barret, who came panting over the hill, knelt beside him and put a hand on his back. Talon suddenly felt relieved, and stood up, his strength returned. He looked at Cid. "What happened to Bahamut?"  
  
Cid shrugged. "Either he ran out of magic energy, was here too long, or was just plain tired and felt like it. I like the chances of that third choice." Seeing the look on Talon's face, he added, "Don't worry, he's done it before…its not like he's dead or anything."  
  
The word "dead" echoed through Talon's head. He whipped around, saw the crumpled shapes of Wakka and Kimahri lying in the dirt, and bowed his head. Auron walked to him like this happened every day. "Do not worry. They will be well kept by the Arestolites…again. There was no doubt at the beginning of this journey that we would suffer losses…and there is no doubt now that we will suffer more."  
  
Talon nodded and turned away. Everyone was there now, and had taken in the scene. Wayne approached Talon and patted him on the back. "C'mon. We should go."  
  
Talon nodded. "I want to get this quest over with. Let's go, and this time, we stay together." Auron chuckled slightly, and they all began to walk. Talon lagged to the back, torn between going on and giving the two warriors proper burials. He silently cast a Fira on each of them, so that their remains might be scattered across the wasteland that they were killed upon.  
  
His stomach felt as if it were made of iron. His head seemed to fall forward automatically, and his eyes were attached to the ground. He walked on, toward the still distant mountain. 


	9. Emerald Weapon

The Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 8  
  
With barely more than a grunt, Talon flicked his sword across the small beast, which seemed to disintegrate before his very eyes. Three more approached, and Talon effortlessly swung his sword at them. They were like small midgets – dwarves. He killed them flies. He flicked his sword, and a Fira spell slammed into the middle of a group of six, exploding and killing them all. Tired, he stepped back into the cave, inside which the rest of the party was seated. Upon his arrival, they all looked up hopefully. He thought for a moment, before selecting Tifa to fight.  
  
As he sat down, he shuddered oddly, then shrugged it off. "Persistent, aren't they?" he moaned wearily. "I must've killed five hundred."  
  
Barda, seated next to him, shrugged as he watched Tifa begin to eradicate the beasts one by one. "Well, we can't let them get in too high of numbers, or they'll swarm the camp and kill us." The corners of his mouth twitched. "Or at least discourage sleep."  
  
Talon opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by a gigantic snore from Cloud, leaning on the log next to them. Talon shook his head. "Does he ever stop sleeping?"  
  
Cid, lighting a cigarette in the fire, shook his head. "Nope."  
  
Talon shrugged. "Figures." He turned to Barda. "What are these gnome things, anyway?"  
  
Barda shrugged again, still watching Tifa. "Just that. Gnomes. They own this land, and come out at night…only a threat in big numbers." He stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth. "AY! Tifa! Mind if I have a go?"   
  
In response, Tifa leaped, flipped in midair, and landed in camp. She attempted to speak, failed, and nodded. Barda quickly began casting Banishing Blade and hacking at the things.  
  
Tifa took Barda's spot at the fire, leaning back against the cave wall. Within seconds, she was asleep. Talon laughed.  
  
Cid shook his head. "Well, I'm not sleeping… I could hold those things off all night."  
  
Wayne, who was hovering between consciousness and sleep, rubbed his eyes and said "Me, too, I guess." With that, he fell asleep.  
  
This time, Barret and Cid joined the laughter with Talon. For a while, they couldn't stop, until Barda came back in, sweating and looking triumphant. "1500! Counted them myself!"  
  
Talon applauded sarcastically. "Wow. Amazing. Bravo. Shall I break your record now, or later?"  
  
Cid stood. "Later. It's my turn to bat now." He picked up his spear and strode out of the cave.  
  
Talon shook his head. "No fair. Alright, then I'm –"  
  
Auron cut him off. "I'M next."  
  
Talon twisted around. "Curse you, Red Baron."  
  
Auron chuckled. "Sorry. Brawn before buffoons."  
  
Everyone awake laughed. Cloud seemed to twitch in his sleep. Talon spoke up. "Oh dear, it seems we're waking sleeping beauty." Everyone laughed again. "You're an animal, Cloud."  
  
Cloud opened his eyes. "Sum'n say m' name? I 'gree with Cid…" he fell back asleep, despite the mad laughter echoing throughout the cave.  
  
After awhile, Cid came back in and threw himself down on a log. "2500. So there."  
  
Talon stared. "You were gone about ten minutes. How'd you manage that?"  
  
Cid chuckled. "A matter of rounding them up into one group. I got about 2000 into a group and had the Highwind blast 'em. 'Course the Highwind always knows how many targets it hits, and it told me something like 2100…I dunno. Then I just kinda hacked 'em away."  
  
Auron slung his sword over his shoulder (narrowly missing Talon's head), and stepped out of the cave with the air of one going for a walk. There was a flash of black light, and Talon whistled low. "That hurt."  
  
Tifa, who had awoken, moved around the fire so that she could see outside. Her eyes widened. "Well, no one else is going out there until morning." Talon stared.  
  
Auron walked back in, looking breezed. He slid down a wall, adjusted his glasses, and fell into a silent sleep.   
  
Talon stared some more. "What'd he do?  
  
Tifa blinked and rubbed her eyes as if making sure it was real. "It's genius. Pure genius."  
  
Talon couldn't take it. He stood up and went to look. As he looked out the door, there was a sort of blue gleam, and he realized the spell Reflect had been cast on the cave entrance. He peered through the wall created by the spell, seeing that many gnomes were giving off a purple glow, and slowly collapsing. Every time a gnome came near another one, the sickness spread.  
  
Talon shook his head, too. "It IS genius."  
  
Cid shrugged. "I'm not counting, but I believe he just dashed all records. Look! Every second, at least ten of them die…it's like shooting fish in a barrel."  
  
Talon laughed. "Well, I've never shot fish in a barrel, but I imagine it would get pretty boring after awhile."  
  
Cloud opened an eye drowsily. "Could you guys at least try to sleep? Who cares about the stupid gnomes, someone should just use Reflect and Bio…"  
  
He was interrupted by Talon, who pointed out that that was exactly what Auron had done. Cloud shrugged stupidly and fell asleep. Talon soon realized that he, too, was feeling the need to sleep. Next to him, Tifa slumped against the wall in a dead sleep. Cid, too, yawned drowsily.  
  
Talon shifted slightly, leaning back against the cave wall. "Well, let's get to sleep. We've got some traveling to do in the morning." Having said that, the blanket of sleep came over him, and he fell graciously under it.  
  
Talon was awoken most rudely the next morning by Tifa whacking him in the back of the head. He blinked and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What'd I miss?"  
  
Tifa smiled. "A near-death situation, which Wayne most graciously saved us from." Then she began telling Talon the entire story about how Wayne had awoken at the very moment that the Reflect spell wore off of the cave and had summoned Ifrit. It had woken up most of them, except for Cloud and himself. Ifrit had unleashed total carnage upon the gnomes, and he had missed it due to sleep. Talon cursed himself.  
  
Talon stood up and stretched. He kicked Cloud in the ribs, causing him to roll over, yawning. He stood, did a weird sort of pirouette in midair, and fell to the ground. Talon laughed as he pulled him to his feet.   
  
Everyone was awake now, and the sun was just coming over the mountains. "Perfect traveling conditions!" Talon remarked. "We should get going as soon as possible."  
  
About five minutes later, everyone was fully awake. They walked out of the cave, grateful to breathe the morning air and be able to walk without being swarmed by midgets with hand axes.  
  
Talon blocked the sun from his eyes and peered off to the south, where the mountain over the Castle was. He saw it and noted the distance to it. He gasped aloud. The others turned to look at him. "I didn't know we were making so much ground! We should be able to reach the mountain by nightfall, if we walk without interruptions." Everyone was very pleased to know this.   
  
For the next hour, Talon was in good spirits, knowing that their first destination was drawing ever nearer. But as they drew closer, Talon began to dread more and more the trials that awaited them there. He walked silently for a great time, eventually going ahead of the others who were killing off the stronger type of gnomes (who came out in daylight) for sport. He was lost in thought, unaware of his surroundings.   
  
He had been looking at the gray sky, imagining what it would like when Leif had been vanquished, when suddenly he plunged downward. It was a few moments before he realized he had fallen into water. He surfaced and took in a deep breath, crawling onto shore. He cried out for everyone else, who immediately began to run toward him.  
  
When they had all arrived, he shook the water out of his eyes. "It would seem we have an obstacle. We will need to swim across.  
  
Their faces darkened. That is, all of their faces darkened except for Cid. Cid laughed and stepped forward, clapping his hands. "No worries! Look up, everyone!" He laughed again as he raised his spear, which promptly began to glow. From the horizon over the mountain, there came a large gray form. It hurtled toward them until it stopped in midair and floated down into the water. Talon gaped at it, realizing it was a ship.  
  
Talon turned to Cid. "You had an airship?" he would have like nothing more than to strangle him on the spot. "All this time, you had an airship, and you didn't tell us? We could've been there about ten minutes after we started the journey with one of these!"  
  
Cid laughed. "Less than that. But if I may correct you, the Highwind," he gestured to the ship, "has lost all manual flight control capabilities. I need a piece of rare rock called Adamantium to power it, but I don't know where to find it. Until then, the only thing it's good for is my Limit Break –"  
  
Talon interrupted. "Your Limit Break isn't important right now! How is it going to help? It's an airship, not a –"  
  
This time, it was Cid who interrupted. "Submarine. That's exactly what its second function is. And the best part is, that system has enough energy to last us as long as we could possibly want to hang around at the bottom of this lake."  
  
Talon's feeling of frustration suddenly turned to excitement. "Great! We'll be able to cut a lot of time using this!"  
  
Cid grinned and nodded. "Yup. Everyone in!" he flicked his spear, and a top hatch opened. One by one, everyone got in. Talon, Wayne, and Barda were highly interested in it. Auron barely looked impressed. Cid motioned for everyone to follow him. He led them through a number of corridors and doors, until they found themselves standing in what was understood to be the control room.  
  
Cid turned to the group. "Right. Well first, this it the Highwind, the fastest and most advanced airship in existence. Welcome aboard." He waved vaguely. "Now, we have two options. The first is that we go straight across this gigantic puddle to the mountain, ignoring everything inbetween. The second is that we all take a special pill that allows us to breathe underwater and we go exploring a bit.  
  
"Now, let's take a vote. All who want to go straight to the mountain?" Auron waved vaguely. "And all for exploring?" All hands (except for Auron's) shot up.  
  
"Right, well that settles that." He pulled canister out of his pocket, and gave everyone a small black pill not unlike a small bean. "Swallow that when we're about to go out into the water. Do not swallow it now, or you will suffocate." He grinned. "You will find that the water will seem like air. Gravity will come into effect, and you will be able to walk on the bottom with ease."  
  
He turned and punched a command into the console, then whipped around and began to walk out of the room, motioning to them to follow. Once again, they found themselves winding down hallways and walking into a number of doors. They suddenly turned a corner and found they had been led to the way they came in. Cid flicked his wrist at a door, which sealed behind them. He turned to the group. "Swallow your pills now." There was a small bustle as people choked or had trouble swallowing it. Cid swallowed his own, then gave the thumbs up and thrust the hatch open.  
  
Water came flooding in. Talon braced himself for the impact, expecting to be crushed by the pressure. But as the water swept over him, it merely felt like a soft wind. He motioned to swim out the hatch, only to realize that he didn't float. Cid laughed at him as he frantically tried to swim, eventually falling flat on his face. Talon stood up (which was amazing in itself) and realized that he could hear Tifa and Barret talking between themselves as though they were not in water.  
  
Talon decided to risk trying to speak. He drew in a deep breath, expecting to drown, only to realize it was like sucking in air. "Cid?" he spoke quietly. "This is weird."  
  
Cid laughed. "Of course it is! Come on then, all of you, out the hatch!" He climbed the ladder and leaped off the side of the ship, landing with a surprising thud. Talon cautiously leaped after him, followed by the rest of the group.  
  
Talon shook his head. "This IS weird." He began to walk with extreme ease. He jumped, and found that gravity had indeed taken effect as if he was on land. He found that it was even easier than on land. He began to walk around the lake, followed distantly by everyone else.   
  
Suddenly, something caught his eye. Something blue had flashed on the ground. He stooped, and, looking carefully, found what seemed to be the hilt of a sword. He grabbed a nearby rock and pried it out of the ground. He grabbed it, and, mustering up all the strength he had, hauled it out of the crack in the rock. He held it up to examine it, just as everyone else approached.  
  
Barda gazed at the bright blue sword Talon was wiping the grime off of. "Wow. That's a nice sword. Where'd you find it?" Talon shrugged and motioned to the crack in the rock. He swung it, and it shot an icicle. He soon realized that it was enchanted with an Ice spell, much like his blade. He unsheathed his own sword, only to realize that the fire had gone out. By carrying it with him in the water, he had removed the enchantment. For the second time that day, he cursed himself.  
  
He flung his old sword to the ground, knowing that it was useless. Barda stooped and picked it up, putting it under his belt, next to his own. "You never know when it might come in handy to have an extra sword."  
  
Talon laughed and sheathed his new blade, which was very cold at his side. He began to walk once again, far ahead of the others. He had not walked ten feet before something else caught his eye.  
  
There was a small green sort of horn sticking out of the ground. Talon looked at it curiously. He heard the group approaching behind him as he grasped the horn tightly. His muscles just began to flex to pull up the thing when Cid gave a strangled cry. "No! Don't!" But it was too late.  
  
Talon was thrown backwards as the ground erupted around the horn. Below the horn came an enormous head, followed by a gigantic body, and Talon felt that he was once again standing in front of Ruby Weapon.   
  
Cid, who approached and hit Talon in the side of the head, quickly backed up this thought. "Fool! You have awoken Emerald Weapon! He dwells underwater, and is much stronger than Ruby!" He bit his lip worriedly as Emerald extracted two gigantic arms, hauling itself out of the hole it was in. Once it had extracted itself, four eyes opened on either of its shoulders, two blue, two yellow. It looked very menacing."  
  
Cloud stepped forward. "I'll fight it. Talon and Cid, you join me." He raised his sword, ready for combat. Next to him, Talon strapped on his shield (though he never used it) and did the same. Cid merely stood there, muttering.  
  
Suddenly, one of Emerald's eyes flashed. At the same moment, there was a blinding blue light, and Auron laughed triumphantly. A yellow beam flashed from one of the eyes, straight at Cloud. There was another blue flash, and the beam went straight back and exploded against the eye that shot it. There were two more blue flashes, and Talon realized that Auron was casting Reflect on them all. Three more eyes shot. All three were destroyed from their own attack.  
  
Talon decided to step forward first. He leaped forward, slashing at the gigantic mass, and realized it had done nothing. They would need to use magic to defeat it. He voiced this opinion aloud, and his two allies nodded.  
  
Suddenly, Tifa came from behind and pushed him back. "You can't do much. You can't use magic – except for a weak Ice spell. Get back with them."  
  
Talon glared at her. "And you can use magic?"  
  
Her eyes flashed menacingly. "Oh, yes…the best of its kind. You'll see." Talon backed off.  
  
Cloud stepped forward, casting his sword behind him. "Right. Let's have some fun!" He raised a hand, which glowed bright yellow. Emerald Weapon swiped at him, but he leaped, and swung his arm downward. From above, a gigantic Thundara pierced the water, striking it. Talon was surprised to see that the spell did not conduct through the water and electrocute everyone.  
  
Cloud was not finished. A yellow ball had materialized in his hand, and when he threw it to the ground, another thunderbolt struck, and Ramuh appeared. He seemed to be holding his breath. He raised his staff high into the air, and lightning struck it. His entire staff seemed to flash, and became a lightning bolt in his hands. He threw it at Emerald Weapon, who was quickly encased in a light that seemed to eat him from the inside. It writhed as if in pain, and continued to do so when Ramuh struck him with three Thundara spells before disappearing due to lack of air. Cloud stepped back to rest.  
  
Cid stepped forward and inhaled deeply from his cigarette (Talon was dumbfounded). He then leaped with all his might, thrusting his spear into Emerald's face. He slashed at it once more before leaping off and landing, immediately thrusting his hand into the air. As he did so, Kjone plunged into the water, roaring with rage (Talon guesses that he could already breathe underwater). He landed with a thud, and reared onto his back legs. When he landed on all fours again, two thunderbolts consecutively struck his horns. He then gave another cry of rage before thrusting into the Weapon, disappearing after he had done his damage. His damage however, was astonishing. Emerald had lost both of its arms, and what was left of him was barely moving.  
  
Talon had been expecting Tifa to lash out with some amazing thunder spell. He let out a loud and obvious gasp when she fell to her knees. He thought she was in pain, and started to dash forward before Barret seized his arm, shaking his head silently. Talon looked on, worried and curious at the same time.  
  
Suddenly, she stood and launched backward. There was a black hole where she had been kneeling seconds before. Out of the hole rose a creature that reminded Talon of Hades, but smaller. It approached Emerald Weapon, looked him up and down, and nodded. It raised its scythe, which suddenly grew to a gigantic size. It brought it back and slashed it down.  
  
Talon had been expecting there to be an explosion or a sound of some sort. He was quite surprised when the scythe silently passed through Emerald, before disappearing completely, along with its owner. He was quite stunned, thinking it didn't work, until suddenly Emerald Weapon flashed, and was gone.  
  
Tifa thrust a fist in the air. "Yes!" The three fighters walked back to the rest of the group.  
  
Talon spoke first. "That was quite some spell. What was it?"  
  
Tifa grinned proudly. "Doom."  
  
"Nice…and effective."'  
  
Tifa laughed. "Yeah, it gets em every time…when they're weakened, anyway."  
  
Cid approached. "Um, friends, we've got a bit of a problem. He's – ah – not dead."  
  
There was a stunned silence while his words sank in. Tifa whipped around. "What do you mean, not dead?"  
  
"Apparently, he fought off the spell." He pointed behind him. When Talon looked up, he saw that Emerald Weapon was struggling to its feet.  
  
Barret laughed. "Big deal. He's weak! I'll finish –" his words were cut off as there was a strange sort of "Bing!" and a yellow beam flashed across the landscape, passing directly through Barret's chest and into Wayne's. 


	10. Dorgan

The Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 8  
  
With barely more than a grunt, Talon flicked his sword across the small beast, which seemed to disintegrate before his very eyes. Three more approached, and Talon effortlessly swung his sword at them. They were like small midgets – dwarves. He killed them flies. He flicked his sword, and a Fira spell slammed into the middle of a group of six, exploding and killing them all. Tired, he stepped back into the cave, inside which the rest of the party was seated. Upon his arrival, they all looked up hopefully. He thought for a moment, before selecting Tifa to fight.  
  
As he sat down, he shuddered oddly, then shrugged it off. "Persistent, aren't they?" he moaned wearily. "I must've killed five hundred."  
  
Barda, seated next to him, shrugged as he watched Tifa begin to eradicate the beasts one by one. "Well, we can't let them get in too high of numbers, or they'll swarm the camp and kill us." The corners of his mouth twitched. "Or at least discourage sleep."  
  
Talon opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by a gigantic snore from Cloud, leaning on the log next to them. Talon shook his head. "Does he ever stop sleeping?"  
  
Cid, lighting a cigarette in the fire, shook his head. "Nope."  
  
Talon shrugged. "Figures." He turned to Barda. "What are these gnome things, anyway?"  
  
Barda shrugged again, still watching Tifa. "Just that. Gnomes. They own this land, and come out at night…only a threat in big numbers." He stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth. "AY! Tifa! Mind if I have a go?"   
  
In response, Tifa leaped, flipped in midair, and landed in camp. She attempted to speak, failed, and nodded. Barda quickly began casting Banishing Blade and hacking at the things.  
  
Tifa took Barda's spot at the fire, leaning back against the cave wall. Within seconds, she was asleep. Talon laughed.  
  
Cid shook his head. "Well, I'm not sleeping… I could hold those things off all night."  
  
Wayne, who was hovering between consciousness and sleep, rubbed his eyes and said "Me, too, I guess." With that, he fell asleep.  
  
This time, Barret and Cid joined the laughter with Talon. For a while, they couldn't stop, until Barda came back in, sweating and looking triumphant. "1500! Counted them myself!"  
  
Talon applauded sarcastically. "Wow. Amazing. Bravo. Shall I break your record now, or later?"  
  
Cid stood. "Later. It's my turn to bat now." He picked up his spear and strode out of the cave.  
  
Talon shook his head. "No fair. Alright, then I'm –"  
  
Auron cut him off. "I'M next."  
  
Talon twisted around. "Curse you, Red Baron."  
  
Auron chuckled. "Sorry. Brawn before buffoons."  
  
Everyone awake laughed. Cloud seemed to twitch in his sleep. Talon spoke up. "Oh dear, it seems we're waking sleeping beauty." Everyone laughed again. "You're an animal, Cloud."  
  
Cloud opened his eyes. "Sum'n say m' name? I 'gree with Cid…" he fell back asleep, despite the mad laughter echoing throughout the cave.  
  
After awhile, Cid came back in and threw himself down on a log. "2500. So there."  
  
Talon stared. "You were gone about ten minutes. How'd you manage that?"  
  
Cid chuckled. "A matter of rounding them up into one group. I got about 2000 into a group and had the Highwind blast 'em. 'Course the Highwind always knows how many targets it hits, and it told me something like 2100…I dunno. Then I just kinda hacked 'em away."  
  
Auron slung his sword over his shoulder (narrowly missing Talon's head), and stepped out of the cave with the air of one going for a walk. There was a flash of black light, and Talon whistled low. "That hurt."  
  
Tifa, who had awoken, moved around the fire so that she could see outside. Her eyes widened. "Well, no one else is going out there until morning." Talon stared.  
  
Auron walked back in, looking breezed. He slid down a wall, adjusted his glasses, and fell into a silent sleep.   
  
Talon stared some more. "What'd he do?  
  
Tifa blinked and rubbed her eyes as if making sure it was real. "It's genius. Pure genius."  
  
Talon couldn't take it. He stood up and went to look. As he looked out the door, there was a sort of blue gleam, and he realized the spell Reflect had been cast on the cave entrance. He peered through the wall created by the spell, seeing that many gnomes were giving off a purple glow, and slowly collapsing. Every time a gnome came near another one, the sickness spread.  
  
Talon shook his head, too. "It IS genius."  
  
Cid shrugged. "I'm not counting, but I believe he just dashed all records. Look! Every second, at least ten of them die…it's like shooting fish in a barrel."  
  
Talon laughed. "Well, I've never shot fish in a barrel, but I imagine it would get pretty boring after awhile."  
  
Cloud opened an eye drowsily. "Could you guys at least try to sleep? Who cares about the stupid gnomes, someone should just use Reflect and Bio…"  
  
He was interrupted by Talon, who pointed out that that was exactly what Auron had done. Cloud shrugged stupidly and fell asleep. Talon soon realized that he, too, was feeling the need to sleep. Next to him, Tifa slumped against the wall in a dead sleep. Cid, too, yawned drowsily.  
  
Talon shifted slightly, leaning back against the cave wall. "Well, let's get to sleep. We've got some traveling to do in the morning." Having said that, the blanket of sleep came over him, and he fell graciously under it.  
  
Talon was awoken most rudely the next morning by Tifa whacking him in the back of the head. He blinked and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What'd I miss?"  
  
Tifa smiled. "A near-death situation, which Wayne most graciously saved us from." Then she began telling Talon the entire story about how Wayne had awoken at the very moment that the Reflect spell wore off of the cave and had summoned Ifrit. It had woken up most of them, except for Cloud and himself. Ifrit had unleashed total carnage upon the gnomes, and he had missed it due to sleep. Talon cursed himself.  
  
Talon stood up and stretched. He kicked Cloud in the ribs, causing him to roll over, yawning. He stood, did a weird sort of pirouette in midair, and fell to the ground. Talon laughed as he pulled him to his feet.   
  
Everyone was awake now, and the sun was just coming over the mountains. "Perfect traveling conditions!" Talon remarked. "We should get going as soon as possible."  
  
About five minutes later, everyone was fully awake. They walked out of the cave, grateful to breathe the morning air and be able to walk without being swarmed by midgets with hand axes.  
  
Talon blocked the sun from his eyes and peered off to the south, where the mountain over the Castle was. He saw it and noted the distance to it. He gasped aloud. The others turned to look at him. "I didn't know we were making so much ground! We should be able to reach the mountain by nightfall, if we walk without interruptions." Everyone was very pleased to know this.   
  
For the next hour, Talon was in good spirits, knowing that their first destination was drawing ever nearer. But as they drew closer, Talon began to dread more and more the trials that awaited them there. He walked silently for a great time, eventually going ahead of the others who were killing off the stronger type of gnomes (who came out in daylight) for sport. He was lost in thought, unaware of his surroundings.   
  
He had been looking at the gray sky, imagining what it would like when Leif had been vanquished, when suddenly he plunged downward. It was a few moments before he realized he had fallen into water. He surfaced and took in a deep breath, crawling onto shore. He cried out for everyone else, who immediately began to run toward him.  
  
When they had all arrived, he shook the water out of his eyes. "It would seem we have an obstacle. We will need to swim across.  
  
Their faces darkened. That is, all of their faces darkened except for Cid. Cid laughed and stepped forward, clapping his hands. "No worries! Look up, everyone!" He laughed again as he raised his spear, which promptly began to glow. From the horizon over the mountain, there came a large gray form. It hurtled toward them until it stopped in midair and floated down into the water. Talon gaped at it, realizing it was a ship.  
  
Talon turned to Cid. "You had an airship?" he would have like nothing more than to strangle him on the spot. "All this time, you had an airship, and you didn't tell us? We could've been there about ten minutes after we started the journey with one of these!"  
  
Cid laughed. "Less than that. But if I may correct you, the Highwind," he gestured to the ship, "has lost all manual flight control capabilities. I need a piece of rare rock called Adamantium to power it, but I don't know where to find it. Until then, the only thing it's good for is my Limit Break –"  
  
Talon interrupted. "Your Limit Break isn't important right now! How is it going to help? It's an airship, not a –"  
  
This time, it was Cid who interrupted. "Submarine. That's exactly what its second function is. And the best part is, that system has enough energy to last us as long as we could possibly want to hang around at the bottom of this lake."  
  
Talon's feeling of frustration suddenly turned to excitement. "Great! We'll be able to cut a lot of time using this!"  
  
Cid grinned and nodded. "Yup. Everyone in!" he flicked his spear, and a top hatch opened. One by one, everyone got in. Talon, Wayne, and Barda were highly interested in it. Auron barely looked impressed. Cid motioned for everyone to follow him. He led them through a number of corridors and doors, until they found themselves standing in what was understood to be the control room.  
  
Cid turned to the group. "Right. Well first, this it the Highwind, the fastest and most advanced airship in existence. Welcome aboard." He waved vaguely. "Now, we have two options. The first is that we go straight across this gigantic puddle to the mountain, ignoring everything inbetween. The second is that we all take a special pill that allows us to breathe underwater and we go exploring a bit.  
  
"Now, let's take a vote. All who want to go straight to the mountain?" Auron waved vaguely. "And all for exploring?" All hands (except for Auron's) shot up.  
  
"Right, well that settles that." He pulled canister out of his pocket, and gave everyone a small black pill not unlike a small bean. "Swallow that when we're about to go out into the water. Do not swallow it now, or you will suffocate." He grinned. "You will find that the water will seem like air. Gravity will come into effect, and you will be able to walk on the bottom with ease."  
  
He turned and punched a command into the console, then whipped around and began to walk out of the room, motioning to them to follow. Once again, they found themselves winding down hallways and walking into a number of doors. They suddenly turned a corner and found they had been led to the way they came in. Cid flicked his wrist at a door, which sealed behind them. He turned to the group. "Swallow your pills now." There was a small bustle as people choked or had trouble swallowing it. Cid swallowed his own, then gave the thumbs up and thrust the hatch open.  
  
Water came flooding in. Talon braced himself for the impact, expecting to be crushed by the pressure. But as the water swept over him, it merely felt like a soft wind. He motioned to swim out the hatch, only to realize that he didn't float. Cid laughed at him as he frantically tried to swim, eventually falling flat on his face. Talon stood up (which was amazing in itself) and realized that he could hear Tifa and Barret talking between themselves as though they were not in water.  
  
Talon decided to risk trying to speak. He drew in a deep breath, expecting to drown, only to realize it was like sucking in air. "Cid?" he spoke quietly. "This is weird."  
  
Cid laughed. "Of course it is! Come on then, all of you, out the hatch!" He climbed the ladder and leaped off the side of the ship, landing with a surprising thud. Talon cautiously leaped after him, followed by the rest of the group.  
  
Talon shook his head. "This IS weird." He began to walk with extreme ease. He jumped, and found that gravity had indeed taken effect as if he was on land. He found that it was even easier than on land. He began to walk around the lake, followed distantly by everyone else.   
  
Suddenly, something caught his eye. Something blue had flashed on the ground. He stooped, and, looking carefully, found what seemed to be the hilt of a sword. He grabbed a nearby rock and pried it out of the ground. He grabbed it, and, mustering up all the strength he had, hauled it out of the crack in the rock. He held it up to examine it, just as everyone else approached.  
  
Barda gazed at the bright blue sword Talon was wiping the grime off of. "Wow. That's a nice sword. Where'd you find it?" Talon shrugged and motioned to the crack in the rock. He swung it, and it shot an icicle. He soon realized that it was enchanted with an Ice spell, much like his blade. He unsheathed his own sword, only to realize that the fire had gone out. By carrying it with him in the water, he had removed the enchantment. For the second time that day, he cursed himself.  
  
He flung his old sword to the ground, knowing that it was useless. Barda stooped and picked it up, putting it under his belt, next to his own. "You never know when it might come in handy to have an extra sword."  
  
Talon laughed and sheathed his new blade, which was very cold at his side. He began to walk once again, far ahead of the others. He had not walked ten feet before something else caught his eye.  
  
There was a small green sort of horn sticking out of the ground. Talon looked at it curiously. He heard the group approaching behind him as he grasped the horn tightly. His muscles just began to flex to pull up the thing when Cid gave a strangled cry. "No! Don't!" But it was too late.  
  
Talon was thrown backwards as the ground erupted around the horn. Below the horn came an enormous head, followed by a gigantic body, and Talon felt that he was once again standing in front of Ruby Weapon.   
  
Cid, who approached and hit Talon in the side of the head, quickly backed up this thought. "Fool! You have awoken Emerald Weapon! He dwells underwater, and is much stronger than Ruby!" He bit his lip worriedly as Emerald extracted two gigantic arms, hauling itself out of the hole it was in. Once it had extracted itself, four eyes opened on either of its shoulders, two blue, two yellow. It looked very menacing."  
  
Cloud stepped forward. "I'll fight it. Talon and Cid, you join me." He raised his sword, ready for combat. Next to him, Talon strapped on his shield (though he never used it) and did the same. Cid merely stood there, muttering.  
  
Suddenly, one of Emerald's eyes flashed. At the same moment, there was a blinding blue light, and Auron laughed triumphantly. A yellow beam flashed from one of the eyes, straight at Cloud. There was another blue flash, and the beam went straight back and exploded against the eye that shot it. There were two more blue flashes, and Talon realized that Auron was casting Reflect on them all. Three more eyes shot. All three were destroyed from their own attack.  
  
Talon decided to step forward first. He leaped forward, slashing at the gigantic mass, and realized it had done nothing. They would need to use magic to defeat it. He voiced this opinion aloud, and his two allies nodded.  
  
Suddenly, Tifa came from behind and pushed him back. "You can't do much. You can't use magic – except for a weak Ice spell. Get back with them."  
  
Talon glared at her. "And you can use magic?"  
  
Her eyes flashed menacingly. "Oh, yes…the best of its kind. You'll see." Talon backed off.  
  
Cloud stepped forward, casting his sword behind him. "Right. Let's have some fun!" He raised a hand, which glowed bright yellow. Emerald Weapon swiped at him, but he leaped, and swung his arm downward. From above, a gigantic Thundara pierced the water, striking it. Talon was surprised to see that the spell did not conduct through the water and electrocute everyone.  
  
Cloud was not finished. A yellow ball had materialized in his hand, and when he threw it to the ground, another thunderbolt struck, and Ramuh appeared. He seemed to be holding his breath. He raised his staff high into the air, and lightning struck it. His entire staff seemed to flash, and became a lightning bolt in his hands. He threw it at Emerald Weapon, who was quickly encased in a light that seemed to eat him from the inside. It writhed as if in pain, and continued to do so when Ramuh struck him with three Thundara spells before disappearing due to lack of air. Cloud stepped back to rest.  
  
Cid stepped forward and inhaled deeply from his cigarette (Talon was dumbfounded). He then leaped with all his might, thrusting his spear into Emerald's face. He slashed at it once more before leaping off and landing, immediately thrusting his hand into the air. As he did so, Kjone plunged into the water, roaring with rage (Talon guesses that he could already breathe underwater). He landed with a thud, and reared onto his back legs. When he landed on all fours again, two thunderbolts consecutively struck his horns. He then gave another cry of rage before thrusting into the Weapon, disappearing after he had done his damage. His damage however, was astonishing. Emerald had lost both of its arms, and what was left of him was barely moving.  
  
Talon had been expecting Tifa to lash out with some amazing thunder spell. He let out a loud and obvious gasp when she fell to her knees. He thought she was in pain, and started to dash forward before Barret seized his arm, shaking his head silently. Talon looked on, worried and curious at the same time.  
  
Suddenly, she stood and launched backward. There was a black hole where she had been kneeling seconds before. Out of the hole rose a creature that reminded Talon of Hades, but smaller. It approached Emerald Weapon, looked him up and down, and nodded. It raised its scythe, which suddenly grew to a gigantic size. It brought it back and slashed it down.  
  
Talon had been expecting there to be an explosion or a sound of some sort. He was quite surprised when the scythe silently passed through Emerald, before disappearing completely, along with its owner. He was quite stunned, thinking it didn't work, until suddenly Emerald Weapon flashed, and was gone.  
  
Tifa thrust a fist in the air. "Yes!" The three fighters walked back to the rest of the group.  
  
Talon spoke first. "That was quite some spell. What was it?"  
  
Tifa grinned proudly. "Doom."  
  
"Nice…and effective."'  
  
Tifa laughed. "Yeah, it gets em every time…when they're weakened, anyway."  
  
Cid approached. "Um, friends, we've got a bit of a problem. He's – ah – not dead."  
  
There was a stunned silence while his words sank in. Tifa whipped around. "What do you mean, not dead?"  
  
"Apparently, he fought off the spell." He pointed behind him. When Talon looked up, he saw that Emerald Weapon was struggling to its feet.  
  
Barret laughed. "Big deal. He's weak! I'll finish –" his words were cut off as there was a strange sort of "Bing!" and a yellow beam flashed across the landscape, passing directly through Barret's chest and into Wayne's. 


	11. The Lost Castle of Power

The Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Everyone was silent as the party walked down the tunnel leading to the Lost Castle of Power. Only Talon and Dorgan knew what lied within, for Dorgan had heard Leviathan's words too. Most crept down into the earth with caution, while Auron and Talon walked ahead, not in caution, but in wariness. They were prepared for any attack.  
  
As Talon turned a corner, he stopped abruptly. The others hastened behind him, and saw that there was a solid wall with strange writing on it.   
  
Talon cocked his head at it. "All this way to be stopped by a wall with scratches on it. I am afraid to break it down…some strange curse will befall us, or the tunnel will collapse." Suddenly he laughed. "Of course! Dorgan tells me they are runes. Can anyone read runes?"  
  
Tifa shoved her way to the front. "No. Barret could, but he can't help us now, can he?"  
  
Talon glanced at Auron, who smiled. "Why don't you ask the Loremaster?"  
  
Talon laughed. His eyes flashed and became red, and his expression hardened instantly. He bent onto his knee and began examining the writings.  
  
He uttered a grunt that caused everyone to jump. "Morgul. The language of Khazad-dum, which is a city long forgotten. Long ago there lived a Dark Lord in that land, nay, in THIS land, for we have passed its borders long ago. This Dark Lord's name I dare not speak. Should I speak it, this entire mountain would banish us in its anger…for the planet itself is trying to forget him. But there is doubt that he is even dead…he was struck down, if you will, by a warrior called – "  
  
"That is quite enough lore for now, Dorgan." Auron muttered over him. "What does it say?"  
  
Dorgan scowled at him. "I dare not speak the language! But it is a poem, which does not rhyme in the common-tongue. It tells of the enchantment on this wall…yes…it would seem that only the Chosen one can pass through this wall unscathed…only the Chosen one may face the trial within…but I wonder. Can Talon get through with me in his mind and heart?"   
  
His eyes flashed back to green. "I don't know…back into the darkest corners of my mind and we shall see if it allows us." He waited, his eyes closed. Finally he opened them. "Right." And with that, he stepped through the wall, leaving behind a loud gasp from his company.  
  
"Are you all right, Father?" Talon spoke softly; he hoped the pass through the wall had not destroyed his father. He was relieved when a weak voice in his mind told him his father was weakened and could not possess him during the fight.  
  
His heart plunged. He would not be able to use his father's amazing skills. He would have to fight on his own. He drew his sword, seeing with some satisfaction that the Ice enchantment had not worn off. Using his sword as light, he glanced around the room. It was very large, and very bleak. The walls, floors, and ceiling were all made of stone. As he looked, his eyes came to rest upon the wall he had entered. There were more runes set in it.   
  
As he approached, his eyes turned to red, and his face grew tired. His walk slackened. Dorgan took one glance at the wall and managed to utter the words "Turn around," before backing out of Talon's consciousness. Talon whipped around to face the room.  
  
Even as he did so, unseen windows on both sides of the room opened, letting in sunlight. Talon scratched his head thoughtfully, wondering how sunlight could be getting underground. He decided it was an enchantment.   
  
One last window opened directly above him, shooting a beam of light to the other side of the room. In the light, he could clearly see a mirror. Suddenly Leviathan's words rang through his mind.   
  
"You will fight a demon version of yourself, which will appear from a cursed mirror." He cautiously approached it, holding his sword in front of him. As he got nearer to the mirror, he saw that instead of seeing the room, he simply saw darkness. The only thing that could be seen was himself.  
  
And yet something seemed amiss…something wasn't right about the mirror. To Talon, it seemed that his reflection was farther ahead to the mirror than he. Talon slowed his walk, and the reflection did the same. When Talon quickened his walk again, his reflection followed suit. So what was wrong?  
  
And suddenly Talon knew. As his feet hit the bottom of three stairs leading upward to the mirror, his reflection put its foot on the frame of the mirror. When his foot fell onto the second step, the reflection put its other foot down in front of the mirror. And when Talon reached the top, he found himself face to face with a version of himself that seemed to have a shadow fallen on him. Talon had a notion in his mind that the reflection would do whatever he did, so he leaped backwards in an attempt to get his enemy back in the mirror. But he stood strong.  
  
The dark Talon slowly descended the steps. As he approached Talon, an evil grin stretched over his shadowed face. And then he spoke, in Talon's own voice.   
  
"Yes…indeed, you are the Chosen one. I am known as Fusoya. I believe you understand that you are to fight me…." His voice trailed off as Talon nodded and thrust his sword inches from Fusoya's face.  
  
"I will fight you, for Leviathan told me you might attempt to fool me." Talon set his mind into disbelief, and vowed that he would not fail it.   
  
At this statement, Fusoya laughed. "No, that is your next trial, the Stone Giant. You were told to not give him the sword for any reason." Seeing Talon's surprise, he laughed. "Yes, I know Leviathan well…he was once one of my Espers, as well as Bahamut and Syldra…the three legendary Espers. And I was once the Chosen One."  
  
Talon jumped at this. He began to consider believing the old man, and then mentally smacked himself for thinking such a thing. But in spite of himself, he lowered his sword.  
  
Fusoya laughed again. "I didn't think you would believe me so readily."  
  
Talon didn't either. "No, I just see that you are unarmed.  
  
"Oh no, far from it." He pulled out a two swords. One, like Talon's, had a strange glow about it, and Talon knew right away it was enchanted. "Enchanted with Shadow Flare, the dark spell. It takes immense energy to cast, though." He flung it aside, followed by a blade that looked exactly like the holy blade at Talon's hip, but an incredible black. "There. Now I am unarmed. Do you trust me now? For I have much to tell you, and whoever it is I sense hiding in your mind."  
  
Talon's disbelief quavered. For a moment, he believed him, but immediately snapped out of it.  
  
Fusoya waved an impatient hand. "It does not matter. When I am through talking, you will be accepting me into your party far beyond willingly." He sat down on the steps and closed his eyes for a moment, and then began to speak his tale.  
  
Talon held rapt attention to him as he spoke. He told Talon of the Demonic Revolution, which was taking place far below the earth, where demons were fighting each other over whether or not they should be living in the world above. Many demons were already living among the Upper World humans, but in disguise. It had raged on for years, ever since the Dark Lord of old had fallen. Fusoya, too, seemed afraid to speak the name.  
  
He told of how he was supported living with the Upper World, but as a fallen Chosen One could not leave his position until the true Chosen one let him join on his quest to destroy the next Dark Lord. He said that though a new Dark Lord had risen, not all demons supported him, and he was one who did not. He told Talon of his skills, which included an entire archive of magic, excluding the Legendary Spells.   
  
When he was finished speaking, Talon readily accepted his invitation. Fusoya gave a shout for joy that he had permission to leave the dark halls. "I have been here almost 2000 years, and its getting quite old!" he laughed. "And now I shall, for the first time in two millenniums, resume my true form!"  
  
Talon expected some sort of amazing bang or flash and him standing there as some sort of monster. He was quite wrong. His form faded to black and reformed itself, and then and old man stood in front of him, with white hair trailing to his feet and strange white eyes. At the look of surprise Talon held, he laughed.  
  
"But alas! I have not explained; I am not a demon. I was simply enslaved for my failure as the Chosen one. I am a descendent of a race known as the Lunarians…we lived on your moon far before you ever lived here. But come! We must advance toward our goal!" He flicked his wrist and there was a crashing sound on the other side of the room, and his allies came dashing in.   
  
At once, Cid leaped at Fusoya, aiming his spear for the heart. Fusoya sighed regretfully and put up a hand. Cid froze in midair and was thrown across the room. Talon began to speak, but was cut off by a roar from Cloud, who leapt in the air, his sword held high. He soon met the same fate as Cid, and slumped down on the floor next to him.  
  
Tifa leapt to attack. At this Talon grew not only fearful, but also annoyed. He could not take it anymore. He leapt in front of her, grabbing her by the ankle as she passed over him, and flung her toward the floor. "STOP! HE IS A FRIEND!" Cloud and Cid leapt forward and caught Tifa. Talon, out of anger, had flung her so hard she would have sank feet into the stone floor, and as it was, it brought Cid and Cloud to their knees.  
  
Talon approached and pulled them to their feet. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "But you would not listen. This is Fusoya. I was meant to fight him, but it seems he is friend rather than foe. Do not worry!"   
  
His eyes quickly changed to red. "I, too, will vouch for this. I listened to it all…he is a supporter of a rebellion against Leif, and a former Chosen one. He will prove useful." He threw an evil gaze at Fusoya. "But should he betray us, I will personally kill him."  
  
But Fusoya was not intimidated. Instead, he laughed. He leapt forward and embraced a surprised Dorgan. "Dorgan, Dorgan! Do you not know me?"  
  
Dorgan looked at him oddly. "No, I cannot say I do. If you would be so kind as to release me, maybe I could get a better look."  
  
Fusoya backed away, still laughing. Dorgan looked at him, a disgusted smirk on his face. "I cannot say I know you…though you do look extraordinarily like my old friend –"  
  
"Galuf!" He laughed some more. "King Galuf of Baal! Do you remember? We sealed Exdeath in the Void some 3000 years ago!"  
  
Dorgan looked at him oddly some more. "I don't think…" Then suddenly his face lit up in remembrance. "Galuf, Galuf! Of course I remember you! And Zeza, and Kelgar! Of course! The Four Warriors of Dawn, they called us…but I thought you died?"  
  
Suddenly his eyes turned to green, as Talon emerged once again, looking thoroughly confused. "What do you speak of? My father was not alive 3000 years ago!"   
  
In response, Fusoya smiled. "Correct…He was not alive. The 9 warriors that fought off Exdeath from this world 3000 years ago were gifted by an elder from a city long past, known as Mysidia. As his dying wish, he used the last of his power to grant all 9 of us life, and eternal life at that. Didn't you ever notice, Talon, that your father's appearance never changed?"  
  
Now that Talon thought about it, it was true. His father had always kept his young and perky look.  
  
Fusoya read the look on his face. "You see? He is an immortal…to age, at any rate. He could be slain just as easily as the next human." He sighed. "But Dorgan, I deceived you. Galuf was not my true name; indeed, I did not even know my true name. When I died, I returned to the moon, as all Lunarians do. My heritage was explained to me by my father, a man named Kluya, ruler of the moon. He then sent me back to save Burtz, Lenna, Cara, and Faris from the clutches of Exdeath's Void. And with the help of you, Zeza, Kelgar, and King Tycoon, we held it back enough for the Warriors of Light to fight him. And fight well, they did…skills whose power I had never known."  
  
Dorgan, who had taken Talon's body minutes before, looked up at Fusoya gravely. "But, Galuf, is it true that they all disappeared?"  
  
Fusoya shook his head gravely. "Yes. I know little of their whereabouts…I believe they sought to claim the weapons here…Burtz defeated me, and that was before I was rebellious, so I did not tell him who I was."  
  
Dorgan shook his head. "It would have been nice to see my first son again."  
  
His eyes turned green again. "First son! But I am your only son!"  
  
Fusoya smiled. "No. Burtz was his first son, but that was 3000 years ago. His second and third were twins; they were named Sabin and Edward. Edward took the throne of an empire called Figaro, while Sabin went and trained with a powerful martial arts master. But both were killed after their fight with yet another Dark Lord, Kefka. A friend of theirs, named Setzer Gabbiani, was piloting them to a city called Narshe when their airship crashed. His fourth and final son was you, Talon."  
  
Cid approached. He had been behind everyone else, listening uncaringly to the story. But at mention of an airship, he stepped forward. "Fusoya, this Airship you speak of…surely it was not the Falcon, the fastest of the two ships built in that age?"  
  
Fusoya smiled. "All of you, please, address me as Galuf. If I am to return to the Upper World, I wish to travel by my own name. And yes, it was the Falcon. Its brother, a ship of no name, was destroyed when Kefka rearranged the continents of the world long ago."  
  
Cid stepped back, muttering speedily. Talon caught only two words: "legends" and "father". He could draw neither head nor tail of this, but Galuf smiled at him. "Yes, Cid, your father was Setzer Gabbiani. But you were given your mother's name, Cid Highwind. Why, I could not tell you." Cid fell back, thoroughly awed, and feeling stupid.  
  
Galuf extended a hand to them. "Come! We must advance!" He whipped around to face the mirror, then picked it up and flung it aside. It shattered against the wall. "I no longer care for that reminder of evil. Come!" He waved his hand at a door that had appeared from behind the mirror.  
  
The party followed him warily, as he and Dorgan walked side by side at the front. Cid and Cloud, who both had their hands on their weapons, closely followed them. Tifa and Auron were strolling quietly and uncaringly behind them. After a great deal of walking downwards, they came to a stop at another rune-filled wall.   
  
Galuf stopped Dorgan as he attempted to walk through the wall. "You must know something first. When you enter, the Giant will be in the form of whatever you most desire. It will fool you into believing that if you give it the sword, you can obtain that desire. You must summon all the willpower you can muster, and tell it you refuse. It will grow angry, and we should be let inside to fight with you."  
  
Trying to keep this all in mind, Dorgan let loose to Talon, who passed through the barrier. Once inside, he once again found himself in total darkness. He unsheathed his sword as light, but he needn't have bothered. For at that second, a light came from the ceiling and shone down upon the floor. Windows on either side of him sprang up to admit the enchanted sunlight. As Talon's eyes darted around the room, his eyes came to rest upon a dark form leaning against a wall to his right. When the light spread and lit up the person's form and face, Talon gasped aloud.  
  
Standing there in the beam of light was Leif. He was clad in a light green cloak, with shining mithril covering his entire body. His head was unprotected, except by a light hood. At the sound of Talon's gasp, his head turned. Jewelry on his ears clang together as he stared at Talon with his blank brown eyes.  
  
Suddenly he spoke. Hearing his voice gave Talon's very soul a shiver. "Welcome, Talon."  
  
Talon suddenly became inexplicably defiant. "Welcome to what? I see nothing about this place that is to welcome to!"  
  
Leif laughed. "Yes, indeed. I should not be here. I should be ruling my planet." He smiled evilly. "But I am misunderstood, you see."  
  
"How so? You're filthy and evil, it's not hard to understand." Talon growled.  
  
"No. I do not want to rule this planet. All I seek…is the sword."  
  
Talon's hand felt for the sword at his side. He drew it, wielding it menacingly at Leif. "You want it? What are my incentives?"  
  
Lief smiled again. "If you give me the sword, I will leave this planet."  
  
Talon's senses cracked. He could not see or hear or smell; he could not feel the coldness of the room. All he could do was think. Leif would be gone forever…if only he turned over the sword…  
  
"That's right. Just give it to me, and I will never plague Plague again." He smiled at his cruel joke.  
  
Talon was suddenly aware that he was walking forward. He attempted to stop, but desire drove him…he stretched out his arm…  
  
Suddenly his eyes turned red and his hand snatched back. He sheathed the sword and stepped back. "Never, Leif! Never!"  
  
Leif's eyes flashed menacingly. "FOOL!" he flashed again – but not his eyes. He himself flashed, and the light spread until Dorgan was blinded. There was a crash from behind him, and the allies came speeding in as the light died and a gigantic stone man stood before them.  
  
It swung a huge fist at Dorgan, who leapt backwards just in time. Cloud leapt forward, bringing his sword down forcefully on the fist that was resting on the ground. It had absolutely no effect, and Cloud was slammed across the room by the fist he had struck.  
  
Dorgan stood rooted to the spot. He dared not attack; he would meet Cloud's fate. He backed away from the gigantic beast, thinking quickly. A shout came from his subconscious, and he let through to Talon. Talon leaped backwards to avoid an attack, thinking about Leviathan's words. He could not remember what he had said…  
  
He leapt aside as Cid came sailing towards him into the wall. Auron was then tossed into the air in a high arch. As Talon followed his progress, his eyes caught a bright light in midair. And then it hit him. "Should you need help with this task, look to the sky!" he repeated. His eyes darted off the light to avoid yet another attack, but instead of leaping aside, he grabbed onto the fist.   
  
The Giant gave a grunt of anger and attempted to fling him off. Talon instead leapt off, grabbing the light from midair. When he hit the floor, he took a closer look at the object in his hand. It was a tablet…a stone tablet! Talon knew it contained a spell that only a great mage could unleash. He rushed to Cid, who was sitting in a corner, breathing heavily, and tossed him the tablet.  
  
Cid's eyes widened. "Holy! HAHA!" He sprang to his feet and held the tablet in midair. It disintegrated in his hand. But as he lowered his arm, Talon could see a light in his eyes that had not been there before. He walked directly to the beast and spat on its fist. "Hey! You!"  
  
The Giant looked at him angrily. It swung a fist at him, which he easily dodged. He grinned as his hand began to glow white. "Eat this!" He pointed a finger at the beast and let go of his restraint. 


	12. Galuf

The Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 11  
  
All hell broke loose. At least a hundred white beams shot in all directions out of Cid's fingertip. They circled the Giant as Cid laughed triumphantly in the background. They began going in smaller and smaller circles, and as they made contact with the Giant itself, it roared in agony. The beams formed a ball, which closed up on the Giant until it disappeared completely. An awed silence fell upon the room, broken occasionally by a moan of pain from Cloud or a chuckle from Cid.  
  
Cid was feeling very good with himself. He had not only acquired the spell Holy, but he had singlehandedly annihilated the second most feared creature on the planet. After an extensive time spent in letting the party members heal, he finally stood up, being the strongest there for the moment, and leaped. As he came down, he hurled a bright blue ball from his hand…and Leviathan appeared.   
  
With a few swishes of his tail, he healed them all in turn. Once they had stood up and gathered themselves, he smiled at Talon. "Well done. You figured the riddle. But I cannot stay here, for I shall be consumed with evil! Farewell!" and with that he vanished into the floor.  
  
The group gathered at the end of the room, feeling much better due to Leviathan's healing. They approached the newly opened door near where Leif had originally leaned against the wall. Talon passed through it first.  
  
After the first corner he turned, he found yet another wall with runes. But as Talon studied it, he noticed they were different. He allowed Dorgan to take over. Once again, Talon's face became serious as the eyes flickered to red. He gazed at the runes, muttering in some foreign tongue. When he looked up, he looked confused. "This is odd. It's elvish, the language of the elves. Its writings make no sense, though."  
  
Galuf nodded grimly. "Yes, I can read it too, though I know little elvish. It says 'Speak, friend, and enter.' What could it mean?"  
  
Dorgan smiled. "Isn't it obvious? It's a riddle, one of the elvish riddles of yore. We must find what it means, and quickly!"  
  
Galuf stepped to the wall and put his staff against it, and began to mutter every incantation spell he had ever known for opening doors. He changed the order of the words, and even the accent of the words. After a long while, he threw his staff on the ground and sat in silence.  
  
They all looked at him sadly. What had they come all this way for? To be stopped by a riddle? They all sat down and began to ponder the riddle.  
  
Dorgan took his turn at spells. He muttered a few spells Galuf had missed, and then he too sat and buried his face in his hands.  
  
Suddenly there came a raspy laugh. Their heads whipped around as they saw Auron, leaning on his sword with laughter. They glared at him angrily, but he continued to laugh, until finally he managed to choke back his laughter enough to speak. "Simple! Incredibly simple, as most riddles are when you solve them. And to think that the answer is the only elvish word I know!" He stepped to the wall and held his sword to it. "Mellon!" The wall faded before their eyes and they breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Tifa looked at him questioningly. "What's that mean?"  
  
Auron smiled. "Friend! That is the elvish word for friend! The inscription is not 'speak, friend, and enter', it is 'speak "friend", and enter!' It's so simple!"  
  
Dorgan smiled at his brother's genius. "Very. I should've seen it from the start. But come! We must go!" He strode into the newly opened door. The path led down a flight of steps. Then another. As they turned the corner after these steps, they found another wall with runes. Dorgan would have run face first into it had he not been sucked directly through, without warning.  
  
He found himself in a dark room. He suddenly felt Talon shouting, and gave way to him. As his eyes flickered to green, Talon became aware of himself and his surroundings. He was in a large, circular stone room. He was in complete darkness, but did not dare to move or speak, for he remembered Leviathan's words well.  
  
Suddenly a single beam of light came from above. It illuminated the threshold of a set of stairs set in the room, and on the threshold stood a tall man that reminded Talon much of Galuf, but without the beard, and of more muscular build. He was clad in a deep blue cloak, with a crown upon his head, and a sword at his side in a sheath bearing many runes.  
  
Leviathan's words struck his mind. Talon closed his eyes as he recalled the whole of it, then shouted, "Judge me. I am pure of heart and have no sin. I am he born from the mouth of a dragon, and I shall claim vengeance itself from these forges and strike down the source of all evil!"  
  
The man turned around and looked at him with a dark glare and a smile. He scanned Talon up and down. "Yes, indeed. Dorgan's son, there is no need for formalities. Leviathan informed you incorrectly. By all means, invite in your allies, and speak at will!"  
  
Talon bowed low, ignoring Dorgan's urges to yield. "Thank you. May I have your name, Master?"  
  
The man gave a harsh laugh. "Me? Master? Surely you did not hear me. There is no need for formalities! You may call me Tycoon, for I am King Tycoon, the Rebel of Dawn. I fought 3000 years ago with your father, Zeza, Galuf, and Kelgar, and died 30 years later while subduing the power of Exdeath to protect my daughters, Galuf, and your brother, Burtz. I struck into their hearts the power of rebellion, causing the fall of Exdeath by the Four Warriors of Dawn."  
  
He laughed. "But I am rambling on! I must let your friends in, and learn of all of them."  
  
He waved a single finger at the door, which shattered the wall by force, not by spell. Talon had little time to awe at this, for at that moment two things happened in quick succession. First, Dorgan forced his way into his body. Dorgan's red eyes stung with tears as he suddenly found himself and Galuf embracing Tycoon like a brother.  
  
Tycoon laughed as he embraced them in possibly the most painful hug either had ever received. When both backed off, Dorgan was weeping openly out of joy, and Galuf was smiling. Tycoon looked at Dorgan.   
  
"So. You have taken residence inside your son's body upon your untimely second death." He chuckled. "Very smart of you. For now I can restore you to your own body!"  
  
He waved both of his hands and a light appeared under Dorgan. His eyes flashed to green, and Talon stumbled backward out of the light. Remaining in the light was a dark red light. Talon clutched at his chest; his heart felt empty without his father in it.  
  
The light around his father's grew and grew, until it seemed like there was a white column sitting there in the middle of the room. Suddenly, there was a great flash, and when it cleared, Talon gasped; his father stood there, with long brown hair and a small tuft of hair on his chin. His clothes were worn traveler's clothes, but he wore a brown cloak over them. At his waist lay the sword Talon had seen clashing with Leif 10 years ago…the flame of the west, Anduril.   
  
As Dorgan's first act of true life, he turned to Talon and smiled. Talon was too taken aback by his father's kingly image to smile back. Dorgan turned to Galuf and threw him a wink, which Galuf returned. Then he turned to Tycoon, and bowed. "Thank you, King Tycoon! I am in your debt once again!"  
  
Tycoon shook his head. "Nay, you paid your debt far beyond full when you saved me from that beast in the Void, that accursed Zeromus." He then turned to the awestruck group. "Behold! For you now lay eyes upon Dorgan, the greatest of the Warriors of Light, and a master in all forms of physical combat! His spell of choosing is Flare, a most devastating spell, and the most effective when combining to form the great Delta Attack!"  
  
Dorgan smiled. "You do not give yourself liberty, Tycoon. You know quite well that your Ultima is required for the Delta Attack, and is by far the most powerful."  
  
Cid approached. "What is this I hear about the Delta Attack, and the Legendary Spells and all this?"   
  
Dorgan laughed. "Do you feel involved, now that you yourself hold one? I suggest you look at the back of your hand!"  
  
Cid ripped off the glove on his right hand to reveal the rune that had appeared on the Holy tablet, and gasped. Dorgan flashed his hand to reveal another rune, which must have stood for Flare. And King Tycoon held up both of his hands, to reveal a rune on either.  
  
He shook his left hand. "This spell is mine. It is the most devastating spell, Ultima. But this…" he shook his right hand. "This is Quake, which has returned to its original keep, for its keeper is dead. Alas!" he said to Dorgan. "It is true, Zeza has died, again. He was killed by his own spell, but in doing so he destroyed half of Leif's army and base of headquarters. He was a great warrior, until the very end."  
  
Dorgan bowed his head. "Indeed he was. And I swear upon Anduril that I shall avenge him." He drew his blade, which glittered in the light, and slid it across his arm. A fine cut formed there, which bled little, but marked Dorgan's promise to himself. "Should I fail, may my blood boil in last anger, and annihilate all around me." He sheathed his sword.  
  
With that statement came total silence. At last, Tycoon, who spoke hesitantly, broke the silence. "Well, I suppose you'll want to know what the purpose of coming to this place was." He sat down on a chair that only now came into the light. "It is simple: I am to give each of you a gift. Not necessarily a physical gift, but a gift." He sighed.  
  
"First, you, Cid Highwind." Cid strode forward. "To you, I grant two things. First, this! Behold!" from behind his seat, he drew a long white lance. "The Holy Lance! You will never find a more powerful weapon. And second to you, Cid, I give you the blessing of the spell Holy; you shall now be able to use it indefinitely through your lance!" Cid, looking thoroughly pleased, backed into a corner and began to admire the lance.  
  
"Next, I must call upon Cloud Strife." Cloud strode forward, tapping his fingers impatiently upon the hilt of his sword. "First, I give to you, nay, to your Espers, indefinite magical power. Your Espers' magic will be more powerful, and they should be able to use it for a longer time. Second, I give you this." He opened his hand to reveal a bright red ball, Esper Ifrit. "It came into my possession when Wayne died. I pass it to you. Third, I grant you a new Limit Break, Big Bang. Use it well, for it will use much energy." Cloud, disappointed that he did not get a new weapon but happy nonetheless, retreated to Cid's side.  
  
"Barda Highcliff! I knew your father well, though he was not much of a warrior; nay, he was more of a tactician. And so to you, Barda, I give you first your father's agility and speed. But alas! That is not all I grant you. I grant you also Excalibur, the Great Sword. Upon it there lies an enchantment of the spell Ultima; but it will use much time, and energy! Use it extremely scarecely!" Barda leaped backwards, performing a number of flips, before landing perfectly and leaning against the wall to admire his new sword.  
  
"Tifa Lockhart!" he never got to speak any more.  
  
Tifa approached and took off her knuckles. "I destroyed them attacking the Giant. Either you give me new weapons, or I'll have to fight with my bare fists."  
  
Tycoon laughed. "Yes, indeed! You are quite lively. I suppose that's one of the reason's you and Dorgan's son are attacted to each other. Now then," he spoke up over the protests of Talon and Tifa. "To you I do indeed give a weapon…Kaiser Knuckles! With these you not only have great attack power and indestructible weapons, but also they are enchanted with the spell Bio! Anything you attack will be slowly annihilated from the inside." Tifa smiled at her new fists and backed away.  
  
"Talon Vernarn. Talon, Talon, Talon…you do not know it, but I am your godfather." Talon jumped in surprise. "Yes, it is true. And that is my first gift; I give you the strength of my love." Talon's heart filled once again, as if his father were they're again, and he felt indescribably strong. "And I believe you thought that it was unfair that I gave Barda the Great Sword?" Talon nodded, glaring at Barda, who gave him a toothy grin. "Well, all is well. For to you I give you this: The Ultimate Sword, Ragnarok!" He unsheathed the sword at his belt and handed the hilt to Talon. Talon managed to hold it in midair for a moment before it fell to the ground out of his hand.   
  
"I cannot lift it!" he shouted angrily. Barda was laughing at him, but fell silent at a glare.  
  
"All is well!" Tycoon said. "Give me the holy blade; it is indeed safe to give it to me. You cannot wield the Holy sword and the Ultimate Sword at once." Talon unsheathed the holy blade and handed it to him. He sheathed it perfectly into his own sheath. Talon then grabbed the hilt of Ragnarok and, with some effort, lifted it off the ground with one hand. Tycoon spoke again. "You will need to use two hands now, Talon, but you will find the effect devastating." Talon lifted the sword with both hands and sheathed it.  
  
"That is not all I give to you, Talon." Talon looked up hopefully. In the corner, Barda muttered something about godparents being too nice. "I have given you some of me to fill your heart and soul; and now I give you the rest of me. I shall become an Esper of your using. The Esper Odin!"  
  
Dorgan now charged forward and grabbed his wrist. "No! Tycoon, you mustn't! Fight with us as a human, not an Esper –"  
  
"SILENCE!" Dorgan's mouth snapped shut. "I am much more powerful as an Esper. Should you summon me, I should annihilate everything in my path in one blow." He turned to the darkness. "Come, Enduril!" A black horse came galloping up from the darkness, and Tycoon mounted it.  
  
"First, I shall get us up onto the surface." He waved his arm and the room vanished. Suddenly, the darkness seemed to shatter, and they were at the mouth of the cave again. "And now, I give you one last word of advice before I become your eternal slave for carnage. My advice is to look to your feet. Goodbye, Dorgan!" The horse leapt and rolled in midair. It rolled smaller, and Tycoon rolled with it. Soon it was one black blur, which grew into an incredibly small size and settled into Talon's hand, etched with white light.  
  
Following his orders, Cid immediately looked down. He gasped as he found they were standing on a large deposit of a strange purple gem. "Everyone get off it! It's Adamantium!" He thrust his spear into the ground on the edge and, using it as a lever, hoisted the gigantic rock out of the ground. He then picked it up with ease and motioned for everyone to follow him as he charged off to the ship to make repairs.  
  
Barda, with his newfound speed, easily passed him, and began circling him while running. Talon lagged behind under the weight of his new sword. Dorgan stayed behind with him, silent, watching Tifa, Cloud, and Galuf do their best to keep up with the two faster fighters.  
  
"So, we have gone from eleven to seven. What ill fate…but we easily make up for it with our new power! We shall annihilate Leif as soon as we have collected all the legendary spells."  
  
Talon glanced at him. "Why wait until then? It may take forever."  
  
"True. But when combined with proper timing, the five spells create the Delta Attack, which will either destroy or imprison him. I do not know. And Odin could do a good amount of damage as well." His eyes filled with tears. "Alas! Why did King Tycoon have to do such a thing? Indeed he is mighty, but he does not understand any language…he cannot speak! Alas for all of us!"  
  
Talon rolled his eyes. "Dad, can you try to advance ten years? Alas indeed." He smirked at his father. "Let's go help Cid with the repairs! Cmon, I'll race you!" With that, he dashed off to the ship, Ragnarok leaning on his shoulder. 


	13. Mysidia

The Legend of Talon  
  
Chapter 12  
  
As Talon launched himself onto the ship, he began to laugh at the sight before his eyes. Cid's legs were sticking out of the wall, flailing madly, and Cloud was hauling on his feet with all his strength while Tifa and Barda rolled around in mad laughter. It seemed Cid had gotten himself stuck.  
  
Cloud wiped sweat from his brow. "Gimme a hand, Talon!" Talon leaped to his side and hauled on Cid's legs with all his strength. There was an odd popping noise and they all tumbled backwards in a heap. Cid fumed over his torn shirt and jacket while Tifa and Barda laughed, if possible, even harder.   
  
Auron, who had been standing quietly to the side with Galuf, tossed Cid a black shirt from a pocket somewhere within his gigantic red cloak. Cid ripped off the remnants of his jacket and threw on the black muscle shirt, which, as Tifa commented, looked very good on him.  
  
Cid posed sarcastically. "Haha. Well, the repairs are made, and with some luck, the Adamantium will react perfectly with the engine system and we'll be in the air in no time." He turned on his heel and strode into the control room, where he began dashing about, making all sorts of adjustments. The others watched him in boredom, as he leapt here and there, flipping switches and entering numbers. Suddenly a roar came from somewhere behind them, and Cid shouted, "Eureka!"  
  
Looking out of the large window directly in front of them, they saw the ground lowering away, and the clouds descending to meet them. They were airborne! Talon shouted for pure joy. Now, their quest could continue, and at a much greater speed.  
  
"But where do we go now?" he voiced this thought aloud.  
  
It was Galuf who answered him. "I know many tales of the Chosen One's tasks. First, we must find the final two Legendary Spells…Meteo and Quake!" Cid showed much interest in these words. "But that is not all. We must bring out numbers from seven back to ten! We must fetch three of the Last Warriors to aid us in our quest."  
  
"Last Warriors?" Talon said curiously. "Are those the ones out of which I chose my original party?"  
  
Galuf smiled. "A good idea, but no. We must travel to the lost city of Mysidia, and I will pray to the Dragon God. He will answer our call, and send us three powerful warriors."  
  
Cid released a whoop of joy. "Alright! First stop, Mysidia, then!"  
  
Galuf turned to him. "Do you know of it?"  
  
Cid's grin faded. "No, but I hoped you could point me to it."  
  
Galuf laughed. "You have much eagerness to fight and quest, Cid Highwind! You are much like Setzer as I knew him." Cid beamed. "And yes, I can lead you to Mysidia. It is a good deal east of here, and across the sea. But with this airship, we should make it."  
  
Cid laughed. "Of course we should! And we will! This is the best airship in creation! Onward!" As if by command of his word, the ship shot forward, and all standing inside wavered slightly, but only Cloud fell.  
  
Land rushed by under them, as they watched in awe from the cockpit. They quickly realized they had just circled the planet. Cid slowed down and apologized to Galuf, who could not help but laugh. Cid flipped a switch on a console somewhere to his right the floor in the center of the room parted to form a window that gave them a perfect view of the land below. Following Galuf's quick commands, he steered the ship just perfectly until a town came into view.  
  
The town of Mysidia was small…but very busy. People swarmed around the stone streets like ants, bustling from shop to shop. It seemed peaceful compared to Talon's training ground. People in the northern part of the town were knelt before a large statue that resembled a dragon. As they descended, Talon saw Galuf looking at the statue forlornly.  
  
"Something wrong?" Talon muttered.  
  
"No," Galuf closed his eyes. "Nothing is wrong…I simply have a history with the Dragon God…perhaps Dorgan should pray –"  
  
"No!" Dorgan spoke from behind them. "The Dragon God despises me ever since I shunned him to follow St. Eva. He could never forgive me for that, though I begged with him once the Grand Church was destroyed."  
  
Talon simply stared. After a few moments, he voiced his thoughts. "What do you speak of? St. Eva? The Grand Church? What are these things?"  
  
Dorgan smiled. "You sound like me." Talon blushed. "No matter. St. Eva was an evil god long ago that possessed important or rich people and made them into demons. Many people, including myself, did not know this. The Grand Church was the headquarters of St. Eva, and when my good friend Ryu destroyed it, people began to realize its evil. Ryu later defeated St. Eva…but was afterwards possessed by one of his powerful dragon spells and became the Dragon God himself."  
  
Talon frowned thoughtfully. "But if Ryu was your friend and became the Dragon God, why does he now hate you?"  
  
Dorgan shook his head. "Because of my stubborn folly, I tried to persuade people that Ryu was evil, and he himself, not the Dragon God, began to hate me. The original Dragon God hated me too for continuing to worship St. Eva. I was a fool…if only I could talk to Ryu this very day…"  
  
Galuf smiled. "I am familiar with this tale of yours."  
  
Dorgan looked at him in surprise. "How so?"  
  
"I have my ways."  
  
"Why are you always so mysterious?"  
  
"Because I enjoy surprising people."  
  
"Surprise?"  
  
"Oops, I've said too much." He grinned.  
  
Dorgan remained quiet in dark thought, occasionally throwing an evil glare at Galuf, who would return it with a smile. But both remained silent as the party left the ship, ignoring the awed townspeople who had gathered to see the supposed "U.F.O." They advanced forward, chatting amongst themselves (except for Dorgan, of course), until they came to a large temple about half the size of the city. They toiled up the gigantic flight of stone steps, and stepped inside.  
  
There were gigantic statues in every direction. Each bore the shape and stature of a different god; Talon recognized only Yevon, the god he prayed to when he lived with the Trainers. Galuf cast a reminiscent glance around the room, pleased to see that he could once again connect with the gods after being locked away so long. Auron gazed forlornly at the statue of Yevon, with a look that Talon recognized to be sadness.  
  
Dorgan approached an elderly man in the middle of the room, who wore a long orange robe. Upon approaching him, the man turned to him and spoke to him with a smile. "What can I do for you, Dorgan son of Domlan?"  
  
Dorgan jumped. "You know of my father and I? How is this?"  
  
The man smiled. "I know much from the counsel of the Dragon God. I am told you need the temple emptied, but I could not do such a thing so easily."  
  
Cid came from behind, colliding ever so slightly with the elderly man as he gazed at the many gods surrounding him. "These are all different gods that people pray to?"  
  
"Yes. They all have separate holidays and such, too."  
  
"Amazing. And that one there…" he pointed to a snakelike statue just inside the entrance. "What is it called, and how popular is it?"  
  
"It is about as popular as Yevon, and that's saying something. It is called Leviathan."  
  
Cid threw a fist in the air. "I knew it!"  
  
The man looked quizzically at him. "Knew what? I am quite confused."  
  
Cid smiled. "Do you follow Leviathan?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Would you like to meet him?" he grinned.  
  
"Of course, but how? I understood he became an Esper some time ago."  
  
Cid laughed. "This?" he held his hand out to show the man Leviathan's Esper. "This is Leviathan. Clear out the temple for us and let us do what we need to, and you may meet a god face to face."  
  
The priest pondered this deal for a moment. A few seconds later, he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. "We need to close early today! Everyone finish and clear out!"  
  
There were many groans from the people around the room, and a growl from a large man knelt before a statue surrounded by incense candles. A number of groans, threats, and annoyed glances later, the temple was empty, and the priest thrust the huge doors shut and bolted them.  
  
He whipped around. "Show me Leviathan first. Then you may pray to your heart's content."  
  
Cid tossed the ball into the air and caught it again. "Very well…" he leapt as high as his legs would allow, thrust off a wall, and landed on Yevon's shoulders. He then leaped, brushed the ceiling with his hand, and hurled the ball downward with all his strength. Leviathan immediately burst from the puddle created in the floor, circled the room, and curled up next to his statue, posing an exact replica of it.   
  
He cast an amused glance at it. "A shame that I became an Esper. Publicity would have been a blast. But to the point…" he coiled his gigantic body in front of the party and thrust his gigantic head toward the priest, who could not move from awe. "Do you follow my teachings?" the priest nodded. "Have you broken any of my Great Commandments?" the priest shook his head. "Have you committed a Great Sin?" to the surprise of many, the priest cast his eyes to the floor and nodded.  
  
Leviathan laughed. "I expected so! If you admit your sins before these witnesses and end your sinning forever, I may forgive you."  
  
The priest shuddered from shock. He muttered many incoherent words, finally stopping to slap himself. Finally, he spoke. "It cannot be helped, Lord. Even if you forgave my sin, I would have no choice but to sin again, for I offer my skills for praying to all who enter this temple. You see, Lord, I have prayed to each god in this temple at least once. Of course, I hold no god before you, so I have broken no commandments. But I pray not only to you. I beg forgiveness."  
  
Leviathan stirred slightly, as if thinking. "It is well that you do this; for though you are sinning, you are sinning to help others. I believe that in your case, I may make an exception. You are forgiven, and I permit you to continue assisting others in praying." He now turned to Cid. "Cid…nay, Master… I have served you long, quite long, and have done many favors for your cause. Now I ask one more."  
  
Cid laughed. "Of course you can stay and become a god again! I understand completely. If you do so, you should get more followers, because people who pray to you might be answered."  
  
Leviathan chuckled. Just as before, Talon felt a strange, relaxing warmth wash over him. "You are wise, Master Cid. I thank you for your leniency…farewell, farewell to all of you. You especially, Chosen one." With that comment, he launched into the air and began to circle the room. As he did so, he became more and more transparent. Seconds later, Talon could barely see him. A faraway voice said something inaudible, and then Leviathan sunk into his statue, and disappeared completely.  
  
Cid smiled, knowing he had just done something for a greater cause. The priest, looking very relieved and happy, stood aside to allow Galuf to the Dragon God statue.  
  
Galuf walked forward and knelt before the statue and began to speak in a strange language that was unfamiliar to most of the ears in the room. Dorgan, however, began to translate, his eyes closed. "Oh Dragon God, here with me I have the Chosen one from tales of old. We seek the power to vanquish the Dark Lords of our era, and are well on our way to that power. We have visited the Castle of Power, and met with Tycoon; and now we come to you in desperation. We seek three more warriors to make our number ten once again. We plead to you to deliver three of your legendary Last Warriors so that we might vanquish Lord Leif."  
  
Here he ended, and knelt silently, praying only in mind. Soon more strange words came from the statue, in a light and hearted voice that should not have belonged to the god. The priest fainted as Dorgan began to translate. "Galuf, Warrior of Dawn. Your pleas shall be answered. Three warriors I grant you, but nay, this is not all! For I give to you, Galuf Baal, instructions. When – nay, if – you find Meteo, you must unlock the seal on its casket. For in that very casket where you might find the Meteo tablet, you might also find two weapons; one, for you, Galuf, is Lillith, which will reveal your true magical power. The second I shall not tell you of; it shall be used by one of the warriors I endear to you. But to the warriors! Leave this temple, and walk two houses to your right, and back one. Enter, and talk to the man there. He is the first, and will take you to the second two. Farewell!"  
  
Barda and Cloud, who had been supporting the priest, now dropped him and dashed after Talon, who had immediately unbolted the door and ran out, followed closely by Dorgan and Auron. Upon cramming everyone through the doors, they all dashed two houses right, and one back. Dorgan put out an arm to hold them back, and then slid the door open.  
  
Inside, there was very little. There was a small replica of the Dragon God statue in the corner, and a large broad sword hung on the wall. Other than that, there was what seemed to be a fire pit in the middle of the room, and a table against the wall. At the table sat a muscular and hooded man, who was drinking from a wooden mug. He set it down on the table and glanced at his visitors. He waved them inside.  
  
They all filed inside. Being eight, they all barely fit. Dorgan, Auron, and Galuf all took seats at the table, while most others sat down or stood.  
  
Dorgan opened his mouth to speak when a clear, English voice rang across the room from the statue. "You were listening?" the man nodded. "Good. You are to tell them of your skills and what you must acquire, and then join them."  
  
The man sighed. He then put his hands to his hood and cast it back, revealing a head of wild blue hair. Many were taken aback, but none as much as Dorgan. He leaped backwards, tripping his chair on himself and falling backwards. He got up among tumultuous laughter, and then pointed at the man. "You!"  
  
The man smiled. "Yes, Dorgan, me. Still supporting the demons?"  
  
Dorgan fell to his knees. "No…I beg forgiveness, please, just don't hurt me…"  
  
The man laughed. "I won't! You were not the only one blinded by the charade!" he turned to the rest of them. "Forgive me. I am Ryu, guardian of the Power of Dragon. Dorgan here fears me because I could kill him, all of you, and this entire town in an instant. The Power of Dragon allows me to become, well, a dragon. Fire dragon…Ice…Thunder…Gold, and Black. When I become Gold, I can annihilate everything within about a ten-mile radius of my position, at the cost of all my energy. When I become Black, I can completely and totally ERADICATE a small area, at the cost of my consciousness. Nothing could survive my Black Dragon form, but becoming it could kill me."  
  
An awed silence followed this long statement as the true degree of his power sunk in. The only sound in the room came from Dorgan, who yelped as Ryu reached for his sword.  
  
Ryu picked up his sword and unsheathed it; many in the room gasped. The blade was huge, even larger than Cloud's sword, and yet he handled it with ease.  
  
"Well," he said to them with a smile. "Shall we go then? We have long to travel. We have to acquire two of my allies: Jean and Nena. Jean is a great swordsman, near as powerful as the legendary Odin, and Nena the Queen of the Mages of Windia. Jean's hometown is Simafort, south of here. Let us go!" He strode out the door, his sword leaning on his shoulder, and they all followed him cautiously.  
  
Dusk was falling as they exited Ryu's house. They walked peacefully out of the village, and to the ship. Here Ryu have a shout.  
  
"No! We cannot fly where we are going. Simafort's defense is famous for destroying all in the air. We must go on foot, and quickly!" There were murmurs of annoyance and reluctance, but they followed his orders. He sprang away like a deer, and the others followed. 


End file.
